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BS  2555  .S44  1917 

Sell,  Henry  T.  1854-1928. 

Studies  in  the  four  Gospel 


STUDIES  IN  THE 
FOUR  GOSPELS 


BIBLE  STUDY  BY  TEXT- BOOKS 

A  New  Method  for  Bible  Classes 
By  HENRY  T.  SELL 

Ten  Interesting  Studies 

i.  Supplemental  Bible  Studies. 

2.  Bible  Studies  by  Books. 

3.  Bible  Studies  by  Periods. 

4.  Bible  Studies  by  Doctrines. 

5 .  Bible  Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ. 

6.  Bible  Studies  in  the  Life  of  Paul. 

7.  Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian. 

8.  Studies  in  Early  Church  History. 

9.  Bible  Studies  in  Vital  Questions. 
10.  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels. 


STUDIES  IN  THE 
FOUR  GOSPELS 

The  Master  Books  of  the  World 


By 

HENRY  T.^SELL,  D.D. 

Author  of  "The  Sell  Series  of  Bible  Studies 

for  Adult  Classes  " 


New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming   H.   Revell   Company 

London  and  Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1917,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  17  North  Wabash  Ave. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:      75    Princes    Street 


Foreword 

In  "  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels  "  an  effort  is  made 
to  set  forth  the  circumstances  under  which  the  Gospels 
came  to  be  written,  their  respective  view-points,  char- 
acteristics, agreements,  differences,  arguments  and 
analyses,  together  with  an  appraisement  of  their  mes- 
sages to  the  ancient  and  to  the  modern  world. 

In  the  reawakening  interest  in  Bible  study,  the  need 
of  a  thorough  understanding  of  the  Gospels  is  easily 
first.  All  history  turns,  as  on  a  pivot,  upon  their 
record.  Our  modern  religion  and  civilization  are 
founded  upon  them.  Time  is  reckoned  as  b.  c.  and 
a.  dm  as  with  the  advent  of  Jesus  Christ  a  new  and 
a  brighter  era  dawned  for  man.  They  are  the  key- 
stone of  the  Biblical  arch.  They  are  the  vouchers 
of  our  Christian  faith.  They  reveal  the  sources  of  life 
and  set  forth  the  principles  of  conduct  which  make  life 
worth  while.  They  easily  outrank  all  ancient  and 
modern  books.  Their  message  never  grows  old  ;  it  is 
a  means  of  inestimable  comfort  and  power  to  those 
who  accept  it.  Their  supreme  aim  is  the  production 
of  belief  in  a  risen  Lord  and  Saviour  and,  through 
Him,  the  moral,  the  social  and  the  political  regener- 
ation of  mankind. 

Each  Gospel  has  a  distinct  and  definite  purpose  in 
view.     It  sets  forth  in  its  own  way,  from  a  common 

5 


6  Foreword 

source  of  facts,  the  world's  greatest  story.  This  work 
is  not  done  dully  but  with  a  heartiness  and  enthusiasm 
that  know  no  bounds.  Each  evangelist  thoroughly 
believed  in  the  cause  he  advocated. 

To  apprehend  the  meaning  of  the  Gospel  writers 
and  "  Why  Four  Gospels  ?  "  their  books  should  be 
studied  separately  and  consecutively — as  is  attempted 
in  this  volume — and  then,  while  the  view-point  of  each 
is  fresh  in  mind,  they  should  be  diligently  compared 
with  each  other.  The  details  should  also  be  studied 
in  the  light  of  the  whole  and  not  the  whole  in  the 
light  of  the  details.  In  this  way,  and  in  no  other,  can 
the  great  all  around  message  of  the  Christ  be  made 
known  to  us.  We  need  to  see  it  all  in  order  to  get  the 
larger  perspective.  It  is  through  such  a  study  of  the 
Gospels  that  there  may  emerge  for  us  the  true  historic 
figure  of  the  Christ. 

The  greatest  question  of  the  early  Church  was — 
"  Who  is  Jesus  Christ  ?  "  This  to-day  is  not  only  the 
greatest  question  of  the  modern  Church  but  of  the 
modern  world.  This  master  question  can  only  be 
sufficiently  and  satisfactorily  answered  for  us,  as  it  was 
of  old,  in  the  Gospels — "  The  Master  Books  of  the 
World." 

In  the  making  of  this  volume  the  author  wrote  to 
eight  eminent  New  Testament  scholars  in  the  United 
States  and  asked  for  lists  of  the  latest  and  best  books 
upon  the  Gospels.  Very  satisfactory  replies  were  re- 
ceived but  the  lists  received  are  too  long  to  be  quoted 
here.     Many  of  the  books  have  been  diligently  studied 


Foreword  7 

by  the  author  and  the  results  of  that  study  are  incor- 
porated in  this  volume.  The  chief  authority,  however, 
is  the  Gospels  themselves. 

This  book  is  for  use  in  adult  Bible,  pastors',  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  and  Y.  W.  C.  A.  classes,  young  peoples'  so- 
cieties, schools,  colleges  and  private  study. 

While  each  one  of  the  nine  studies,  presented  in  this 
book,  may  be  considered  in  a  single  session  of  the 
class,  much  better  results  may  be  attained  by  devoting 
two  or  more  sessions  to  each  study  and  assigning 
topics  to  individuals  in  advance. 

This  is  the  tenth  volume  to  be  issued  in  the  author's 
"Series  of  Bible  Studies,"  of  which  about  two  hun- 
dred thousand  copies  have  been  sold. 


Contents 

The  Making  of  the  Four  Gospels       •      1 1 
(Introductory  Study) 

The  Gospel  of  Matthew 


II. 

The  Plan  of  Matthew 

.      29 

III. 

The  World's  Messiah  . 

The  Gospel  of  Mark 

.      44 

IV. 

The  Object  of  Mark    . 

.       62 

V. 

The  Authority  of  the  Christ 
The  Gospel  of  Luke 

.       76 

VI. 

The  Purpose  of  Luke   . 

.       89 

VII. 

The  Certainty  of  the  Saviour     . 
The  Gospel  of  John 

.     106 

VIII. 

The  Clear  Vision  of  John   . 

.     124 

IX. 

The  Revelation  of  the  Christ    . 

.     144 

STUDY  I 
THE  MAKING  OF  THE  FOUR  GOSPELS 

Origin. — We  do  not  have  the  Christ  because  of  the 
Gospels  but  the  Gospels  because  of  the  Christ.  These 
writings  are  an  effort  to  answer  the  question,  "  Who 
is  Jesus  Christ  ? "  and  to  express  and  chronicle  His 
life,  teaching,  death  and  resurrection.  They  are  con- 
nected in  a  very  vital  way.  "  It  is  indispensable  to 
detect  the  running  stream  of  life  that  winds  steadily, 
for  all  its  eddies  and  backwaters,  between  and  through 
these  varied  writings  ;  and  this  is  impossible  till  the 
critic  stands  beside  the  life  which  they  presuppose  and 
out  of  which  they  rise." 

Definition. — Gospel  means  "  Good  Tidings  "  (Luke 
2 :  10-14).  In  the  mouth  of  Christ  and  those  whom  He 
sent  forth  it  was  the  good  tidings  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  (Luke  4 :  16-21  ;  Matthew  4  :  23  ;  9  :  35  ;  10  :  7  ; 
11 :  1-6;  Mark  1  :  14 ;  16:  15;  Luke  9:2;  10:  1-9; 
John  1  : 1-18).  This  "  Good  Tidings  "  was  inseparably 
associated  with  Christ.     It  is  His  Gospel. 

Literary  Form. — The  Gospels  must  be  classified  by 
themselves  as  having  a  specific  literary  form.  "  They 
are  authoritative  statements  of  the  acts  and  words  of 
Christ.  As  in  the  machinery  of  public  life  we  have 
protocols  reciting  with  authority  facts  or  documents 

11 


12  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

upon  which  political  action  is  to  be  founded,  so  the 
authors  of  the  Gospels  drew  up,  and  the  early  Church 
accepted,  what  were,  not  in  themselves  books  of  law, 
but  the  best  authority  for  the  acts  and  words  of  their 
Founder  to  which  the  Church  looked  for  its  supreme 
law.  And  this  technical  description  is  borne  out  by 
the  language  of  the  preface  to  Luke's  Gospel  (i  :  1-4). 
No  doubt  the  Gospel  of  John  differs  widely  in  spirit 
from  the  other  three.  Its  prologue  elaborates  a  theo- 
logical position,  which  the  body  of  the  work  supports, 
but  this  necessitates  only  a  slight  modification  of  the 
formula,  used  above ;  the  '  Acts '  of  Jesus  become  in 
John's  writings,  *  Signs  ' ;  His  ■  Words  '  are  brought 
forward  as  '  Witness '  of  His  Divine  essence  and  mis- 
sion. Thus  the  fourth  Gospel  may  be  placed  in  the 
same  category  with  the  other  three." 

The  Background — The  time,  of  the  life  and  work 
of  Christ  which  the  Gospels  record,  was  within  about 
the  first  thirty-three  years  of  the  first  century.  The 
place  was  Palestine,  under  Roman  rule.  Galilee  and 
Judea  were  thickly  settled  portions  of  Palestine.  Here 
was  the  midway  between  the  east  and  west  of  the  vast 
Roman  Empire.  Caravans  were  constantly  traversing 
this  district — what  was  said  and  done  here  would 
speedily  be  heralded  throughout  the  known  world.  It 
was  a  fitting  place  to  proclaim  the  "  Good  Tidings  " 
which  was  to  influence  the  world.  The  population 
of  the  Empire  was  about  120,000,000,  of  which  only 
about  20,000,000  were  citizens — the  rest  were  slaves 
and  tributaries,  for  the  most  part.     Some  authorities 


The  Making  of  the  Four  Gospels  13 

claim  that  there  were  only  about  4,000,000  Roman 
citizens  in  full.  There  was  a  vast  variety  of  political 
conditions. 

Outwardly  It  Was  a  Splendid  Age. — The  world 
state  seemed  to  be  realized.  The  arts  and  sciences 
were  highly  cultivated.  Commercial  traffic  and  pleas- 
ure travel  were  made  easy  by  splendidly  kept  military 
roads  which  extended  to  the  farthest  confines  of  the 
Empire.  There  was  a  general  use  of  the  Greek 
language. 

Internal  Conditions  Were  Bad. — The  old  philoso- 
phies and  religions  were  worn  out.  The  temples 
fostered  all  sorts  of  evils.  Seneca,  the  great  Roman 
philosopher,  wrote  :  "  All  things  are  full  of  crimes  and 
vices."  He  agreed  with  what  Paul  wrote,  along  the 
same  line,  to  the  Romans  (1  :  18-32).  Human  life 
was  considered  of  little  value ;  it  was  daily  sacrificed, 
for  the  pleasure  of  the  populace,  in  the  shows  of  the 
circus. 

There  Was  a  Reawakening  of  the  Religious  Sense. — 
To  this  the  Gospel  appealed.  It  presented  an  adequate 
object  of  worship.  It  insisted  on  purity  in  moral  con- 
duct. It  emphasized  the  value  of  human  life.  It 
preached  a  faith  and  hope  which  rejuvenated  the 
hearts  of  men.  It  so  worked  for  good  that  the  adher- 
ents of  Christ  were  found  in  great  numbers,  through- 
out the  Empire,  within  thirty  years  after  His  Gospel 
was  made  known. 

The  Oral  Period. — The  Gospel  was  first  proclaimed 
through  the  spoken  word.     Christ  used  this  method 


14  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

(Matt.  5:1,  2).  He  instructed  His  disciples  to  use 
this  method  (Luke  9 :  I,  2;  10 : 1 ;  Acts  1  :  8).  In  the 
days  when  there  were  no  newspapers,  coming  in  streams 
from  fast  running  presses,  and  no  deluge  of  printed 
books,  when  everything  had  to  be  written  out  carefully 
by  hand,  it  was  the  most  effective  way  to  get  the 
u  Good  Tidings  "  before  the  people.  Men's  memories 
were  more  highly  cultivated,  then,  on  account  of  the 
lack  of  the  constant  presence  of  the  printed  page. 

It  was  customary  to  preserve  narratives  and  teach- 
ings for  a  considerable  period  in  oral  form  before  put- 
ting them  into  writing.  "  The  Jewish  Targums  " — 
paraphrases  of  the  Old  Testament  books  in  the  ver- 
nacular— "  existed  orally  for  a  century  or  more  before 
assuming  definite  written  form/' 

The  oral  way  of  instruction  had  been  the  way  of 
great  philosophers  and  religious  teachers  for  centuries. 
Socrates,  the  father  of  Greek  philosophy,  left  no  writing 
of  any  sort.  Epictetus,  the  Stoic,  likewise  wrote  noth- 
ing. Yet  through  their  spoken  words,  they  created  a 
new  world  of  philosophy.  Their  disciples,  afterwards, 
wrote  down  what  they  remembered  of  their  words. 

Remarkable  results  followed  the  proclamation  of  the 
oral  Gospel  by  Jesus  Christ.  Crowds  followed  Him 
everywhere  and  hung  upon  His  words.  After  His 
resurrection,  His  disciples,  taking  up  the  work  of  oral 
preaching,  stirred  great  cities — like  Antioch,  Ephesus, 
Corinth  and  Rome — of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  in- 
habitants, to  their  very  depths,  and  made  a  multitude 
of  converts.     What  more  effective  method  could  have 


The  Making  of  the  Four  Gospels  15 

been  used  ?  To-day,  when  great  crises  arise,  men 
gather  to  hear  the  spoken  word,  as  even  more  effective 
than  the  printed  page. 

The  Oral  Period  Has  Not  Yet  Come  to  an  End. — 
Men  still  desire  to  hear  the  spoken  Gospel. 

The  Writing  Age. — There  came  a  time,  however, 
in  the  history  of  the  early  Church,  when  Christian 
communities  had  multiplied  rapidly  and  were  widely 
scattered  over  the  Roman  Empire.  Those  who  had 
heard  and  seen  the  Christ,  or  had  been  with  those  who 
had  seen  Him,  were  passing  away.  It  was  felt  that 
what  Christ  taught  and  did  should  be  preserved,  in  its 
purity.  The  Christians  wanted,  in  written  form,  His 
Gospel.  They  had  heard  it  repeated  again  and  again, 
they  could  repeat  it  themselves.  But  what  of  those 
who  would  come  after  them  ?  So  while  things  were 
fresh  in  the  memory,  the  first  attempts  at  Gospel 
making  were  made.  Luke's  preface  to  his  Gospel 
(1  :  1-4)  is  the  classic  example  of  the  record  of 
these  efforts.  It  was  easy  to  remember  and  to  repeat 
what  Christ  had  said  and  done.  It  was  not  difficult 
to  write  it  out.  He  spoke  in  parables  ;  in  striking, 
pithy  sentences.  He  was  unique  and  original  in  His 
way  of  putting  truth.  Then  the  truth  which  He 
taught  was  new  and  startling.  His  works  of  power 
could  not  help  but  impress  people. 

At  just  what  time  "  The  Writing  Age  "  began  it  is 
impossible  to  say.  The  bounds  of  "  The  Oral 
Period "  have  been  roughly  placed  between  30  and 
50  A.  d.  ;  "  The  Writing  Age,"  50  to  100;  "  Collect- 


16  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

ing  the  Writings  "  of  the  New  Testament,  ioo  to  150. 
But  within  "  The  Oral  Period  "  New  Testament  scholars 
now  tell  us  that  there  must  have  been  many  letters  de- 
scribing the  Christ  and  what  He  said  and  did.  Some 
of  these  letters  may  have  been  quite  lengthy  and  gone 
quite  into  detail.  We  see  this  tendency  in  the  Epistles 
of  Paul,  which  he  began  to  write  in  about  52  a.  d. 

Some  scholars  place  the  beginnifig  of  Gospel  making 
as  early  as  40  a.  d.  Professor  James  Moffatt,  of  Ox- 
ford, in  his  "  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  New 
Testament "  (page  215),  says  :  "  Nevertheless  by  at  least 
50  a.  D.  such  notes  and  collections  (in  regard  to  the 
words  and  works  of  Christ)  may  have  begun  to  exist 
in  rough  form.  The  current  was,  at  any  rate,  setting 
unmistakably  in  that  direction.  By  the  time  of  Paul's 
later  literary  activity,  written  evangelic  narratives 
were  in  existence  here  and  there,  especially  within  the 
primitive  Palestinian  churches.  The  primary  need  for 
these  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  a  new  generation 
was  rising,  who  were  dependent  for  their  history  of 
Jesus  upon  a  fast  diminishing  company  of  eye-wit- 
nesses, in  the  rapid  extension  and  consolidation  of  the 
Christian  communities." 

The  Four  Forms  of  the  Gospel,  which  have  come 
down  to  us,  bear  the  names  of  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke 
and  John.  Two  apostles  and  two  companions  of 
apostles.  There  were  other  attempts  at  Gospel 
making,  which  have  perished.  These  Gospels,  each 
in  its  own  sphere,  were  considered — by  those  in  the 
early  Church,  who  had  immediate,  or  the  best,  knowl- 


The  Making  of  the  Four  Gospels  17 

edge  of  the  things  of  which  they  relate — most  truly  to 
set  forth  the  words  and  works  of  the  Christ. 

The  first  three  Gospels  are  called  "  The  Synoptic 
Gospels  "  (seeing  together)  because  they  largely  relate 
to  the  same  events  in  the  ministry  of  Christ  in  Galilee. 
"  They  are  built  upon  the  same  general  historical 
framework.  Thus  they  all  contain,  after  an  account 
of  the  preaching  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  of  the  bap- 
tism and  temptation  of  Jesus,  a  narrative  of  Jesus' 
Galilean  ministry,  of  a  journey  to  Jerusalem,  of  the 
last  week  in  Jerusalem,  and  of  the  post-resurrection 
story  ;  all  omitting  the  early  Judean  ministry  of  which 
the  fourth  Gospel  has  an  account."  They  resemble 
each  other  in  the  recording  and  in  the  general  order 
of  the  events  which  they  relate.  The  resemblance 
between  Mark  and  Luke  is  especially  close.  By  far 
the  larger  part  of  the  verbal  agreement,  in  the  three 
Gospels,  is  found  in  the  giving  of  the  words  of  others, 
especially  the  words  of  Jesus.  Yet  there  are  marked 
differences.  Each  has  a  specific  motive  and  arranges 
the  common  matter,  in  specific  instances,  somewhat 
differently.  There  are  additions  and  omissions.  Mat- 
thew contains  330  verses  not  found  elsewhere ;  Mark 
68  and  Luke  541.  Take  this  added  matter  in  Luke 
9  :  51-18  :  34  ;  there  is  here  a  series  of  events  and  dis- 
courses, which  constitute  about  one-third  of  this  Gos- 
pel and  which  have  no  parallel  elsewhere.  In  narrative 
Matthew  occupies  about  one-fourth  of  his  Gospel,  Luke 
one-third  and  Mark  one-half.  These  resemblances  and 
differences  constitute  what  is  known  as  "  The  Synop- 


18  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

tic  Problem."  But,  "  Behind  our  present  four  Gospels 
there  doubtless  lay,  as  Luke's  preface  indicates,  an 
oral  tradition,  ultimately  derived  from  eye-witnesses." 
The  written  Gospels  resemble  each  other  so  much, 
probably,  because  the  oral  teaching  of  the  apostles 
had  taken  a  settled  form.  The  apostles  would  be 
anxious  to  use,  and  their  hearers  to  require  the  use  of, 
the  words  of  Christ  in  the  way  in  which  He  spoke 
them.  There  was  a  careful  selection  of  material,  for 
each  Gospel,  for  the  purpose  which  the  author  had 
before  him.  We  are  frankly  told  in  the  Gospel  of 
John  of  this  selection  of  material  for  a  particular  pur- 
pose (John  20:30,  31) — "And  many  other  signs 
truly  did  Jesus  in  the  presence  of  His  disciples,  which 
are  not  written  in  this  book :  But  these  are  written 
that  ye  might  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son 
of  God;  and  that  believing  ye  might  have  life 
through  His  Name." 

Ihe  fourth  Gospel,  written  long  after  the  first  three, 
does  not  contradict  or  supplant  but  supplements  Mat- 
thew, Mark  and  Luke.  It  was  conceived  in  a  different 
atmosphere,  when  the  Church  had  shaken  itself  free 
from  questions  of  the  Jewish  law  and  more  spiritual 
matters  had  come  to  the  front.  It  is  the  intensity  of 
the  present  communion  with  the  living  Lord,  in  the 
Spirit,  which  dominates  the  fourth  Gospel.  Recent 
criticism  of  the  first  three  Gospels  has  brought  them 
nearer  to  John  in  that  the  things  set  forth  in  them — 
especially  in  Mark — in  regard  to  Jesus  Christ,  as  the 
Son  of  God,  are  elaborated  and  brought  to  full  flower 


The  Making  of  the  Four  Gospels  19 

in  this  fourth  Gospel.  The  Synoptic  Gospels  concern 
themselves,  chiefly,  about  the  reporting  of  the  events 
of  Christ's  ministry  in  Galilee  while  the  fourth  Gospel 
has  to  do,  for  the  most  part,  with  the  ministry  in 
Judea.  But  the  fact  is  that  none  of  the  Gospels  pro- 
fesses to  give  a  complete  account  of  Christ's  life  on 
earth.  In  John's  Gospel  there  are  repeated  references 
to  the  ministry  in  Galilee  (4:43;  6 :  1  ;  7:1),  while 
expressions  occur  in  the  other  Gospels  which  would  be 
unintelligible  if  the  ministry  had  been  strictly  confined 
to  Galilee  (Matt.  23  :  37  ;  Luke  13  :  34). 

Problems  and  Key-notes. — Each  Gospel  had  a  sepa- 
rate problem  before  it.  The  key-note  of  Matthew  is 
— "  Fulfillment  of  Prophecy  "  (1  :  22 ;  2  :  5,  6,  15,  17, 
23,  etc.);  Mark — "The  Authority  of  the  Christ" 
(1  :  22,  27,  etc.)  ;  Luke — "  The  Certainty  of  the  His- 
torical Christ "  (1:4);  John — "  The  Lordship  (1  :  1) 
and  Saviourhood  of  the  Christ  "  (20  :  30,  31). 

Four  Great  Points  of  Agreement. — There  is  a  cen- 
tral mass  of  historical  truth  around  which  Matthew, 
Mark,  Luke  and  John  group  their  materials.  This  is 
the  fundamental  element  which  makes  them  preach 
the  u  Good  Tidings." 

1.  The  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God.  Each 
evangelist  sets  this  forth  in  his  own  way  (Matt.  1:23; 
3:17;  Mark  1  :  1,  11;  Luke  1:4;  2  :  1 1  ;  John 
1 :  1-18). 

2.  The  life  of  Christ  on  earth  in  human  form  and 
subject  to  human  conditions.  The  central  portion  of 
each  Gospel  is  taken  up  with  this  life. 


20  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

3.  Large  space  is  given  to  the  events  of  His  last 
week  :  the  triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem,  the  Temple 
discourses,  the  last  supper  and  the  trials  in  which  Jesus 
sets  forth  His  claims  as  the  Messiah  and  Saviour 
(Matt.  26  :  26-29  J  26  :  62-64 ',  Mark  14 :  22-24  ; 
14  :  61,62  ;  Luke  22:  14-20;  22:  66-71  ;  John  13:1- 
17:26;  18:29-19:19),  His  rejection  by  the  Jews, 
His  trials  and  His  death  by  crucifixion  (Matt.  27  :  1- 
66 ;  Mark  15  :  1-47 ;  Luke  23  :  1-56 ;  John  19 :  1-42). 

4.  His  resurrection.  The  rising  from  the  dead  on 
the  third  day,  the  parting  instructions  to  the  disciples 
and  the  ascension  are  all  amply  set  forth  (Matt.  28  ; 
Mark  16;  Luke  24;  John  20  and  21). 

Authorship  and  Authenticity.— As  far  back  as  we 
can  go,  in  the  early  records  of  the  Church,  the  Gospels 
bore  the  names  we  now  know  them  by — Matthew, 
Mark,  Luke  and  John.  These  "  Writings  "  were  well 
known  in  the  second  century. 

Some  of  the  early  testitnonies  are  as  follows  : 

Tatian  made  a  Harmony  of  the  Gospels,  which  was 
published  about  170  A.  d.  The  "  Diatessaron,"  as  it 
was  called,  became  very  popular.  It  was  a  compilation 
of  our  four  named  Gospels.  It  began  with  the  open- 
ing verses  of  John's  Gospel — thus  putting  at  the  fore- 
front the  claim  of  the  Divinity  of  Christ. 

Irenosus  (115-202  a.  d.)  was  born  in  Asia  Minor 
and  spent  his  early  life  there.  He  afterwards  became 
bishop  of  Lyons  in  France.  He  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  four  named  Gospels,  in  the  form  in  which  we 
now  have  them.     In  his  writings  he  uses  the  New 


The  Making  of  the  Four  Gospels  21 

Testament  with  great  freedom.  He  makes  several 
hundred  references  to  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke  and  John. 
Of  John,  he  writes  specially,  "  having  previously 
spoken  of  the  three  other  Gospels  and  their  authors," 
"  Afterwards,  John,  the  disciple  of  the  Lord,  who  also 
leaned  upon  His  breast,  did  himself  publish  a  Gospel 
during  his  residence  at  Ephesus  in  Asia "  ("  Adv. 
Haer.,"  Ill,  1).  He  thus  commenced  his  teaching 
in  the  Gospel — "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word, 
and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God," 
etc.  (John  I  :  1).  Irenaeus,  while  he  lived  in  Asia 
Minor,  was  a  pupil  of  Polycarp  (bishop  of  the  church 
at  Smyrna)  who  was  a  disciple  of  John,  the  Apostle, 
who  was  bishop  at  the  near-by  city  of  Ephesus. 
Paul  had  made  a  long  stay  at  Ephesus  and  founded 
the  church  there.  Irenaeus  had  an  opportunity  to  get 
knowledge  at  first  hand  from  Polycarp,  who  had 
known  and  talked  with  many  eye-witnesses  and  ear- 
witnesses  of  what  Jesus  had  said  and  done.  Irenaeus 
gives  this  testimony  in  a  letter — "  For  I  remember  the 
occurrences  of  those  days  better  than  the  more  recent ; 
so  I  can  tell  the  very  spot  in  which  the  blessed  Poly- 
carp sat  and  conversed,  and  his  outgoings  and  his  in- 
comings, and  the  character  of  his  life,  and  the  form  of 
his  body,  and  the  conversations  which  he  held  with 
the  multitude ;  and  how  he  related  his  familiar  inter- 
course with  John  and  the  rest  who  had  seen  the  Lord, 
and  how  he  rehearsed  their  sayings,  and  what  things 
they  were  which  he  had  heard  from  them  with  regard 
to  the  Lord  and  His  miracles  and  teaching.     All  these 


22  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

things  Polycarp  related  in  harmony  with  the  writings, 
as  having  received  them  from  the  eye-witnesses  of  the 
Word  of  life  "  ("  Early  Christian  Literature  Primers," 

II,  55). 

Polycarp  :  his  life  (69-155)  "  spans  with  one  grand 
arch  the  entire  chasm  of  historic  uncertainty  which 
appears  in  our  accounts  of  the  early  Church."  One 
abutment  rests  upon  the  eye-  and  ear-witnesses  of  our 
Lord  and  the  other  upon  Irenaeus  and  men  of  his  age. 
The  apostolic  traditions  are  borne,  in  security,  over 
this  bridge.  One  epistle,  out  of  a  number  which 
Polycarp  wrote,  remains  to  us  ("  Early  Christian 
Literature  Primers,"  I,  80-87).  This  letter  begins — 
"  Polycarp  and  the  presbyters  that  are  with  him  to  the 
church  of  God,  which  is  at  Philippi :  mercy  unto  you, 
and  peace  from  God  Almighty,  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  our  Saviour,  be  multiplied."  It  shows  that  the 
Gospel  writings  had  become  so  popular  that  they  had 
entered  into  the  common  life  and  language  of  the 
people.  Four  things  are  here  brought  to  our  notice  : 
I.  "He  states  the  fact  of  our  Lord's  resurrection  and 
ascension  to  glory."  2.  "  He  refers  to  the  teaching 
of  our  Lord  and  His  Apostles."  3.  "  He  refers  to  the 
*  Oracles  of  Our  Lord '  which  were  the  words  for  the 
written  Gospels — Matthew,  Mark,  Luke  and  John." 
4.  "  He  quotes  the  language  of  Matthew,  Luke,  John, 
Acts,  Peter  and  Paul."  "  Here,  then,  we  get  a  link  in  our 
chain  which  connects  us  with  the  actual  writers  of  the 
New  Testament  and  assures  us  that  its  contents  were 
in  the  hands  of  men  who  lived  before  the  last  of  the 


The  Making  of  the  Four  Gospels  23 

apostles  were  dead."     Polycarp  was  martyred  (burned 
to  death)  for  his  faith  in  his  Lord. 

We  Are  Carried  Over  Into  the  First  Century  by  the 
Testimony  of  Papias. — Papias  (70-150)  was  bishop  of 
Hierapolis  and  a  contemporary  of  Polycarp.  He  was 
hearer  of  many  intimate  acquaintances  of  the  apostles. 
He  knew  two  men,  who  were  disciples  of  the  Lord. 
He  knew  the  daughters  of  the  apostle  Philip.  He 
was  a  careful  observer  and  writer.  He  wrote  a  work 
in  five  books — "  Interpretation  of  the  Sayings  of  the 
Lord,"  which  is  now  lost.  The  last  trace  of  it  was  in 
1 218  a.  d.  It  may  come  to  light  again.  A  number 
of  quotations  from  this  work  are  preserved  to  us  by 
Irenaeus  and  Eusebius.  He  was  an  eager  inquirer 
after  the  truth  as  shown  by  the  following  brief  selec- 
tions :  "  But,  if  indeed,  anywhere,  one  who  had  fol- 
lowed the  elders  came,  I  inquired  searchingly  about 
the  words  of  the  elders — what  Andrew  or  what  Peter 
said,  or  what  Philip,  or  what  Thomas,  or  James,  or 
what  John  or  Matthew ;  or  what  other  of  the  Lord's 
disciples  (had  spoken)  that  which  also  Aristion  and  the 
presbyter  John,  disciples  of  the  Lord,  spoke."  Of  the 
authorship  of  Mark's  Gospel,  he  says  :  "  Mark,  being 
the  interpreter  of  Peter,  wrote  accurately  whatever  he 
remembered,  though  indeed  not  (setting  down)  in  order 
what  was  said  or  done  by  Christ ;  for  he  did  not  hear 
the  Lord,  nor  did  he  follow  Him :  but  afterwards,  as  I 
said  (he  followed)  Peter,  who  adapted  his  discourses  to 
the  necessities  of  the  occasion,  but  not  so  as  to  furnish 
a  systematic  account  of  the  '  Oracles  of  the  Lord'; 


24  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

so  that  Mark  committed  no  fault  when  he  wrote  some 
things  as  he  recollected  them.  For  of  one  thing  he 
took  care — to  pass  by  nothing  which  he  heard  and 
not  to  falsify  in  anything."  Papias  further  says — 
"  Matthew  wrote  the  oracles  in  the  Hebrew  tongue 
and  every  one  interpreted  them  as  he  was  able."  By 
"  Oracles  "  is  here  meant  the  teachings  of  Christ. 

There  Was  a  Vast  Audience,  Eager  for  the  Gospels. 
— There  is  much  other  testimony  along  the  above 
lines  which  cannot  be  given  here  for  lack  of  space. 
At  the  time  when  Polycarp  and  Papias  lived  there 
were  great  numbers  of  Christians  in  Asia  Minor. 
This  fact  is  shown  independently  by  the  celebrated 
letter  of  Pliny,  the  Roman  governor  of  the  province 
of  Bithynia  in  Asia  Minor,  written  about  112  a.  d. 
to  the  emperor  Trajan,  in  which  he  speaks  of  the  wide 
prevalence  of  Christianity.  As  early  as  64  A.  D., 
within  thirty-one  years  after  the  resurrection  of  Christ, 
Tacitus,  the  great  Roman  historian,  informs  us  that 
the  number  of  Christians  in  Rome  was  "  ingens  mul- 
tudino  " — a  great  multitude.  He  tells  us  this  in  con- 
nection with  the  fierce  persecution  that  broke  out  at 
that  time.  Before  this  time  Paul  had  gone  on  his 
three  great  missionary  journeys,  carrying  the  Gospel 
into  the  big  metropolitan  centers  of  population  and 
winning  converts  by  the  thousands. 

The  modern  view  of  the  Gospels  is  that  while  the 
authors  did  not  themselves  put  their  names  to  them 
yet  that  tradition  is  right  in  assigning  their  sources  to 
them.     Mark's  Gospel  was  written  in  Greek ;  he  was 


The  Making  of  the  Four  Gospels  25 

the  interpreter  of  Peter — Peter  narrating  and  Mark 
writing — hence  we  have  here  the  Gospel  of  Peter,  an 
eye-witness  and  an  apostle.  Papias  tells  us  that  Mat- 
thew wrote  his  Gospel  in  Hebrew — "  The  Teachings 
of  Christ."  Matthew  was  also  an  eye-witness  and  an 
apostle.  But  this  Gospel  was  quite  early  rewritten,  or 
translated,  into  the  Greek.  In  the  narrative  part  it  has 
much  in  common  with  Mark,  as  also  has  Luke.  But 
only  one-quarter  of  the  Gospel  of  Matthew,  in  Greek, 
is  taken  up  with  narrative,  thus  keeping  its  original 
character  of  "  The  Teachings  of  Christ  "  for  a  special 
purpose.  If  Matthew's  Gospel,  with  Luke,  follows,  in 
the  main,  the  narrative  in  Mark,  then  we  still  have  the 
narrative  direct  from  the  testimony  of  an  eye-witness. 
Luke,  a  companion  of  Paul,  declares  plainly  how  and 
why  he  composed  his  Gospel  (1  :  1-4)  in  a  his- 
torian's way,  getting  at  the  evidence  from  "  eye-wit- 
nesses and  ministers  of  the  word."  In  John,  the 
author  of  the  fourth  Gospel,  we  have  also  an  eye-wit- 
ness and  an  apostle.  It  has  been  claimed  that  this 
Gospel  is  a  series  of  discourses  which  were  delivered 
by  John  to  his  church  in  Ephesus.  As  there  were 
two  Johns— the  "  Apostle  "  and  the  "  Elder,"  there 
has  been  a  tendency,  for  certain  reasons  on  the  part 
of  some  scholars,  to  assign  this  Gospel  to  the  "  Elder." 
But  in  either  case  it  is  claimed  that  we  have  the  cor- 
rect reporting  of  the  discourses  and  events.  There  is 
still  ample  evidence  that  the  sources  are  from  the 
"  Apostle  "  and  an  eye-witness.  The  early  Church 
believed  and  taught  that  this  Gospel  was  that  of  John, 


26  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

the  "  Apostle."  For  more  about  this  matter  see  the 
eighth  study  in  this  book,  sub-head  authorship. 

Dates. — There  has  here  been  quite  a  wide  diver- 
gence of  opinion,  as  the  Gospels  are  themselves  un- 
dated. There  are  certain  bounds  within  which  they 
must  have  been  written.  There  is  still  much  to  be 
adjusted.  The  modern  tendency  is  to  move  back 
towards  the  earlier  dates.  It  is  perfectly  possible 
to  hold,  with  good  evidence,  that  the  first  three 
Gospels,  in  Greek,  were  written  between  60  and  70 
A.  D.  The  Hebrew  Matthew  might  have  been  written 
five  or  ten  years  earlier.  John's  Gospel  saw  the  light, 
in  all  probability,  in  the  ninetieth  year  of  the  first  cen- 
tury. The  order  in  Greek  is — Mark,  Matthew,  Luke 
and  John. 

Professor  Harnack,  in  his  book — "  Date  of  the  Acts 
and  Synoptic  Gospels" — tells  us  (page  124),  "It 
seems  now  to  be  established  beyond  question  that 
both  books  (The  Gospel  of  Luke  and  The  Acts)  of 
this  great  historical  work  were  written  while  Paul  was 
still  alive."  He  further  declares  (page  133),  "That 
tradition  asserts  no  veto  against  the  hypothesis  that 
St.  Luke,  when  he  met  St.  Mark  in  the  company  of 
St.  Paul,  the  prisoner,  was  permitted  by  him  to  peruse 
a  written  record  of  the  Gospel  history  which  was  es- 
sentially identical  with  the  Gospel  of  St.  Mark  given 
to  the  Church  at  a  later  time." 

The  Messages  of  the  Gospels  will  be  considered 
under  the  chapters — Matthew,  Mark,  Luke  and  John, 
in  this  book. 


The  Making  of  the  Four  Gospels  27 

The  Significance  of  the  Facts  and  the  Faith 
which  produced  the  Gospels  cannot  be  overestimated. 
These  Writings  have  withstood  the  assaults  of  the  ages. 
They  are  still  alive  with  great  spiritual  power.  The 
primary  concern  is  what  the  writers  believed  about 
Jesus  rather  than  with  the  exact  forms  in  which  they 
happened  to  express  that  belief.  The  distinctive  note 
of  the  new  religion,  whether  in  hymn  or  Gospel,  was 
the  person  of  Christ.  This  is  what  distinguished  the 
Gospels  from  Judaism  and  Hellenism  and  it  is  a  dif- 
ference which  is  immensely  greater  than  any  difference 
between  one  Gospel  and  another.  The  fundamental 
conviction  is  here  expressed  that  with  Jesus  a  new  re- 
lationship to  God  has  been  effected  and  manifested. 
It  is  faith  in  a  living  Lord  that  is  set  forth.  It  is  a 
growing  conviction  of  New  Testament  scholars  that 
the  filial  consciousness  of  Jesus  preceded  the  Mes- 
sianic. "  It  is  the  recognition  of  this  filial  conscious- 
ness of  Jesus  as  the  crucial  element  in  the  Christology 
of  the  first  three  Gospels  which  enables  us  to  under- 
stand the  continuity  between  them  and  the  fourth 
Gospel."  In  regard  to  the  belief  of  the  early  Church, 
one  of  the  greatest  of  modern  scholars,  Professor 
James  Moffatt — author  of  "  The  Introduction  to  the 
Literature  of  the  New  Testament  " — tells  us  in  "  The 
Theology  of  the  Gospels"  (page  174),  "  My  point  is 
that  an  examination  of  the  earliest  records,  of  the 
sources  behind  Mark  and  the  other  two  synoptic  Gos- 
pels, shows  the  Messianic  drapery  or  setting  of  His  per- 
son was  not  the  result  of  Paulinism  impinging  upon 


28  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

the  pure  and  original  memory  of  a  humanitarian 
figure,  who  lived  and  died  for  the  sake  of  a  message 
which  amounted  to  a  little  more  than  a  doctrine  of 
theism  plus  brotherly  love.  .  .  .  The  Jesus  of  the 
Primitive  Church  was  a  Jesus  whom  believers  hailed 
and  worshipped  as  the  Christ  of  God." 

QUESTIONS 
What  can  be  said  of  the  origin  of  the  Gospels,  definition 
and  literary  form?  What  was  the  background,  the  out- 
ward and  internal  conditions  ?  How  was  there  an  awaken- 
ing of  the  religious  sense  ?  What  was  the  oral  period  and 
how  was  it  customary  to  preserve  narratives  and  teachings  ? 
What  can  be  said  of  the  oral  way  of  instruction  of  great 
philosophers  and  teachers?  What  remarkable  results  fol- 
lowed the  proclamation  of  the  oral  Gospel  ?  What  was  the 
writing  age  ?  When  did  it  begin  ?  How  early  were  there 
attempts  at  Gospel  making  ?  What  can  be  said  of  the  four 
forms  of  the  Gospel?  The  first  three  and  the  fourth? 
Problems  and  key-notes  ?  The  four  points  of  agreement  ? 
What  can  be  said  of  the  authorship  and  authenticity? 
What  are  some  of  the  early  testimonies,  Tatian,  Irenseus, 
Polycarp,  Papias?  What  can  be  said  of  the  audience 
ready  for  the  Gospels  ?  What  is  the  modern  view  of  the 
Gospels  ?  What  can  be  said  of  the  dates  of  the  Gospels  ? 
What  can  be  said  of  the  facts  and  the  faith  which  produced 
the  Gospels? 


STUDY  II 

THE  PLAN  OF  MATTHEW 

The  Aim  of  Matthew  is  to  present  a  biography 
with  a  purpose.  It  is  to  take  the  great  ideal  of  the 
Master  and  to  set  it  forth  by  facts,  discourses,  mir- 
acles and  parables,  arranged  in  historic  order.  This 
is  also  the  method  of  the  other  Gospel  authors.  They 
all  write  about  the  same  subject  but  the  view-points 
are  different.  Hence  the  difficulty  in  reconciling,  in 
their  accounts,  that  which  is  not  intended  to  be  rec- 
onciled. They  do  not  contradict — they  supplement 
each  other.  Much  is  gained  by  this  four-sided  pre- 
sentation of  Christ  and  His  mission  on  earth.  With 
the  setting  forth,  in  this  way,  of  the  life,  words  and 
works  of  the  Saviour,  each  Gospel  has  also  a  definite 
problem  before  it  for  solution. 

The  Problem,  which  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  was 
set  to  solve,  was  not  an  easy  one.  Jesus  had  been 
heralded  as,  and  had  proclaimed  Himself,  the  long  ex- 
pected Jewish  Messiah  ;  yet  the  Israelitish  nation,  as  a 
nation,  had  disowned  Him  in  life,  and  in  death,  and 
had  persecuted  His  followers — after  His  resurrection. 
The  hope  that  Jesus  would  become  a  political  Messiah 
— a  Jewish  Caesar — had  faded  away.  There  were 
many   individual   Jews   who   believed   in   the  "  New 

29 


30  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

Way  "  but  they  seemed  reluctant  to  give  up  the  ob- 
servance of  the  customs  of  the  Jewish  law.  The 
Christian  cause,  however,  was  not  failing — for  increas- 
ing multitudes  of  Gentiles  were  pressing  into  its  com- 
munion— but  it  was  rapidly  becoming  Greek.  There 
was  not  the  slightest  doubt  of  the  wonderful  success 
of  the  Gospel  outside  of  Judaism.  But  what  had  be- 
come of  all  the  promises  to  Israel,  when  the  Messiah 
should  come?  Were  the  Old  Testament  prophets 
wrong  ?  They  had  associated  "  The  Messianic  De- 
liverer with  the  redeemed  nation,  but  the  event  of  his- 
tory had  disappointed  this  hope.  What  did  it  mean  ?  " 
These  were  questions  which  were  troubling  the  Jewish 
Christians  and  perplexing  also  those  of  Gentile  origin. 
How  could  they  be  answered  ? 

How  Can  Jesus  Christ  be  The  World  Messiah  ? — 
Here  is  the  task  of  the  book  of  Matthew.  It  has  been 
called — "  The  first  historic  apology  for  universal  Chris- 
tianity." 

In  the  solution  of  this  problem  the  argument  is : 

First :  that  Jesus  Christ  has  come  from  Abraham, 
through  the  royal  line  of  David  ;  that  He  is  truly  be- 
gotten of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  that  He  is  divinely  ac- 
knowledged as  the  Messiah  at  His  baptism  and  that 
He  fulfilled  all  the  requirements  of  the  Old  Testament 
prophecies  in  regard  to  the  Messiahship.  "  That  it 
might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  through  the 
prophet "  is  a  frequent  expression.  He  is  the  long 
expected  Jewish  Messiah. 

Second  :  that  the  proofs,  of  the  true  Messiahship  of 


The  Plan  of  Matthew  31 

Jesus  Christ,  having  been  given  to  the  Israelitish 
nation  that  this  nation  rejected  them  and  Him  and 
deliberately  crucified  Him. 

Third  :  that  the  Messiah  having  been  rejected  by 
His  nation  that  that  nation  has  in  turn  been  rejected 
by  the  Messiah.     The  House  of  Israel  is  left  desolate. 

Fourth :  that  the  "  Messianic  kingdom  has  ceased 
to  be  in  any  distinctive  sense  Jewish,  and  in  place  of 
the  old  national  dispensation  there  was  created  by 
Jesus  Himself,  the  true  Jewish  Messiah,  a  kingdom  of 
all  nations ;  thus  universal  Christianity,  freed  from  all 
national  restrictions  or  peculiarly  Jewish  institutions, 
becomes  the  true  successor  of  the  Old  Testament  re- 
ligion ;  the  true  Jew  must  be  a  follower  of  Jesus,  and, 
in  consequence,  leave  Judaism  behind." 

It  is  important  to  carefully  observe  each  step  in  this 
magnificent  presentation  of  Matthew. 

"  The  author's  aim  is  by  no  means  attained  when 
he  has  advanced  evidence  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah. 
He  reaches  his  goal  only  when,  with  this  as  the  first  step 
of  his  argument,  he  has  shown  that  Jesus  the  Messiah 
founded  a  kingdom  of  universal  scope,  abolishing  all 
Jewish  limitations." 

The  World  Religion  thus,  as  it  is  shown  in  Mat- 
thew, emerges  from  Judaism.  The  command  of  Jesus 
Christ — "  Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  bap- 
tizing them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  the  Son 
and  the  Holy  Ghost " — concludes  this  book.  "  The 
religion  of  Jesus  was  not  merely  the  Judaism  of  the 
temple,  plus  a  belief  in  Jesus  as  the  Messiah,  but  a 


32  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

world  religion,  freed  from  all  bounds  and  restrictions, 
local  and  national.  The  book  of  Matthew  carries  the 
doctrine  of  the  apostle  Paul  to  the  conclusion  which 
Paul  saw  to  be  involved  in  it,  but  to  which  he  was  not 
wont  himself  to  press  it."  Before  this  each  nation  had 
its  own  gods — they  were  purely  national.  The  in- 
terests of  the  gods  were  bound  up  with  the  nations 
who  worshipped  them.  When  the  nations  died,  the 
gods  died.  But  here  was  the  old  religion  of  Jehovah 
rising  up,  in  its  Messiah,  to  judge  its  own  nation  and 
condemn  it — while  it  began  its  victorious  career  as 
u  The  World  Religion."  As  such  we  receive  it  to- 
day, as  knowing  no  nationality  but  inviting  all  men  to 
share  in  its  blessedness. 

The  Readers  for  Whom  the  Book  Was  Primarily 
Intended  seem  to  be  Jewish-Christians.  The  argu- 
ments and  quotations  from  the  Old  Testament,  the  use 
of  Jewish  descriptive  titles,  the  reporting  of  the  words 
of  Jesus  which  emphasize  His  mission  to  the  Jews  and 
the  passages  which  refer  to  the  downfall  of  Jerusalem, 
all  seem  to  indicate  a  Jewish-Christian  audience.  But 
the  wide  scope  of  the  thought  here  carries  it  far  be- 
yond any  Jewish  interest. 

The  Times  in  which  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  saw 
its  final  form  were  troublous  in  the  extreme.  There 
was  great  need  of  strengthening  statements  in  regard 
to  the  Christian  faith  that  men's  hearts  might  not  fail 
them  in  a  trying  crisis,  such  as  came  in  the  years  from 
64  to  70  A.  d.,  or  from  the  first  Roman  persecution  of 
the  Christians  in  the  time  of  Nero,  until  the  destruc- 


The  Plan  of  Matthew  33 

tion  of  Jerusalem.  Christianity  had  made  a  wonderful 
progress  in  the  sixth  decade  of  the  Christian  era.  It 
was  in  this  time  that  Paul  completed  his  missionary 
journeys  and  other  disciples  had  carried  the  glad  news 
of  the  Gospel  far  and  wide.  But  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  seventh  decade  there  came  such  reversals  in  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ  that  made  many  doubt  its 
power  to  survive.  In  the  year  64  of  the  fourteen 
wards  of  the  city  of  Rome  ten  were  destroyed  by  fire. 
The  Christians  were  accused  of  setting  the  fire  and 
this  was  made  an  excuse  for  the  breaking  out  of  a 
great  persecution.  They  were  crucified,  thrown  to  the 
wild  beasts,  torn  asunder  and  burned  alive — all  for 
their  faith  in  Christ.  Although  Nero,  the  instigator 
of  the  persecution,  died  in  68  the  persecution  did  not 
cease.  Judea  was  revolting  and  the  black  shadow  of 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the  temple  was  being 
cast  over  the  land  (Matt.  24).  It  was  a  time  of  earth- 
quakes, inundations,  volcanic  outbursts  and  horrible 
prodigies.  In  the  midst  of  woes  past  and  woes  to 
come  the  sun  of  life,  for  the  Christians,  seemed  to  be 
setting  in  seas  of  blood.  Yet  this  Gospel,  probably, 
receiving  its  final  touches  in  these  fearful  times,  be- 
trays no  lack  of  confidence  in  the  survival  of  the  re- 
ligion of  Christ  (which  its  enemies  hoped  to  destroy). 
It  reflects  the  spirit  of  the  Master,  who  predicted 
these  troublous  times  and  bade  His  disciples  not  to  be 
afraid  for  He  was  to  conquer  the  world. 

Authorship. — This  Gospel  was  universally  regarded 
by  the  early  Church  as  the  work  of  Matthew — one  of 


34  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

the  twelve  apostles.  The  same  tradition  declared  that 
this  Gospel  was  written  in  Aramaic — the  vernacular  of 
Palestine.  Yet  the  Gospel  of  Matthew,  as  we  know 
it,  is  in  the  Greek  language,  practically  embodying  the 
Aramaic. 

Matthew  was  a  representative  Jew  and  an  apostle 
of  Jesus  Christ.  His  father's  name  was  Alphaeus 
(Mark  2 :  14).  His  call  came  (Matt.  9:9;  Mark 
2:14;  Luke  5  :  27)  when  he  was  attending  to  his 
business,  as  a  customs'  officer,  at  the  toll  gate  near 
Capernaum  on  the  Great  West  Road  from  Damascus 
to  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  That  he  was  an  upright 
and  good  business  man  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that 
there  was  not,  as  there  was  in  the  case  of  Zaccheus, 
any  hint  of  restoring  dishonest  gains  (Luke  19 :  8). 
Immediately  upon  being  called  to  follow  Christ  "  He 
left  all,  rose  up  and  followed  Him."  That  he  left  all 
the  gain  and  the  means  of  gain,  which  meant  so  much 
to  a  Jew,  showed  the  complete  change  wrought  in 
him.  His  unselfish  and  noble  nature  is  shown  by  the 
interesting  side-light  we  get  from  the  Gospels.  "  For 
while  Mark  (3:18)  and  Luke  (6 :  15),  in  their  lists  of  the 
apostles,  give  us  the  order  •  Matthew  and  Thomas,'  he, 
himself,  has  placed  Thomas  first  ■  Thomas  and  Mat- 
thew '  (Matt.  IO :  3).  And  not  only  so,  but  he  alone 
of  the  Evangelists  attaches  to  his  name  the  despised 
designation  of '  the  publican.'  It  is  as  if  he  wished  to 
emphasize  in  the  strongest  manner  the  greatness  of 
the  change  that  had  been  wrought  in  him,  and,  by 
reminding  others  of  the  lowliness  of  his  origin,  to  lead 


The  Plan  of  Matthew  35 

them  to  magnify  along  with  him  the  Hand  that  had 
worked  his  deliverance."  He  seems  to  have  been  a 
man  "  swift  to  hear  and  slow  to  speak."  So  far  as  the 
records  go,  he  took  no  prominent  place  amongst  the 
apostles,  but  that  he  was  a  keen  observer  and  an  ac- 
curate recorder  of  what  he  observed  is  evidenced  by 
his  Gospel.  He  writes  as  an  eye-witness.  He  omits 
the  whole  of  the  first  year  of  the  ministry  of  Jesus 
because  he  had  had  no  personal  knowledge  of  what 
Jesus  said  and  did  in  Judea,  the  scene  of  His  first 
year's  work.  For  the  same  reason  he  touches  lightly  on 
the  early  months  of  the  Galilean  ministry,  before  his  call. 
The  Making  of  the  Gospel. — Although  this  Gospel 
is  not  specifically  claimed  by  its  maker  yet  in  the 
oldest  Greek  manuscripts  the  title  is — "  After  Mat- 
thew." The  early  Fathers  of  the  Church  "  constantly 
connect  this  Gospel  with  Matthew,  sometimes  ex- 
pressly describing  him  as  the  publican  or  the  apostle. 
The  earliest  of  these  testimonies  is  that  of  Papias, 
quoted  by  Eusebius — "  Matthew  accordingly  composed 
the  oracles  (sayings)  in  the  Hebrew  dialect,  and  each 
one  interpreted  them  as  he  was  able"  (Eusebius, 
H.  E.,  Ill,  39).  Later  writers  frequently  repeat  this 
assertion  that  Matthew  wrote  in  Hebrew,  yet  accept 
our  Greek  Gospel  as  Matthew's,  many  of  them  ap- 
parently having  no  direct  acquaintance  with  the  He- 
brew book  (Prof.  E.  D.  Burton,  "  Int.  to  Gospels," 
p.  9).  That  Matthew  wrote  the  first  Gospel  and 
wrote  it  in  the  Hebrew,  or  Aramaic,  the  vernacular  of 
Palestine,  is  well   attested.     This    Gospel  was  in  use 


36  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

some  time  before  the  others.  But  the  version  that  we 
know  is  in  the  Greek  language.  It  seems  to  be  ac- 
knowledged amongst  scholars  that  all  that  the  Hebrew 
contained  is  embodied  in  the  Greek — with  added  mat- 
ter, in  harmony  with  it.  u  To  relieve  the  difficulty 
some  have  conjectured  that  Matthew  wrote  his  Gospel 
both  in  Aramaic  and  in  Greek.  This  was  the  view  of 
Bengel  and  Home  ("  Int.  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,"  4, 
420).  No  one  would  question  that  Matthew,  the  tax 
collector  at  Capernaum,  would  be  able  to  write  in 
both  languages.  Josephus  wrote  his  ■  History  of  the 
Jews  in  Aramaic  and  in  Greek ' "  ("  Int.  to  Century 
Bible ").  But  other  scholars  view  the  matter  in  a 
different  light.  The  Greek  Matthew  came  after  the 
Hebrew  Matthew  and  stands  second  in  the  making 
of  the  Greek  Gospels  of  Mark,  Matthew,  Luke  and 
John.  The  contents  of  the  Matthew  Gospel,  in  He- 
brew and  in  Greek,  as  authentic  and  historical,  are 
unquestioned.  If  the  Greek  is  by  another  hand,  it  is 
a  sympathetic  one,  who  did  for  Matthew  what  Mark 
did  for  Peter,  in  setting  forth  what  Matthew  saw  and 
heard  as  an  eye-  and  ear-witness  of  his  Lord.  It  was 
received  as  Matthew's  Gospel. 

The  Unity  of  This  Book. — "  It  is  essential,  at  the 
outset,  to  feel  the  massive  unity  of  this  book,  if  any 
justice  is  to  be  done  to  it  either  from  the  literary  or 
from  the  religious  standpoint.  Jesus,  the  true  Mes- 
siah, born  and  trained  under  the  Jewish  law,  and  yet 
Lord  of  a  church,  whose  inward  faith,  organization, 
procedure,  and  world-wide  scope  transcended  the  legal 


The  Plan  of  Matthew  37 

limitations  of  Judaism — this  is  the  dominant  concep- 
tion of  Matthew's  Gospel  from  beginning  to  end." 
"  He  wishes  to  show  that  in  spite  of  the  contemporary- 
rupture  between  Judaism  and  Christianity  there  has 
been  a  divine  continuity  realized  in  the  origin  and 
issues  of  faith  in  Jesus  as  the  Christ,  (a)  *  Thou  shalt 
call  His  name  Jesus  :  for  He  shall  save  His  People 
from  their  sins  '  (Matt.  1 :  21).  That  People  is  no 
longer  Israel  but  a  wider  community  (Matt.  21  :  43). 

(b)  A  greater  than  the  temple  is  here,  One  who  is  also 

(c)  the  promulgator  of  a  new  law  which  transcends  the 
old  (Matt.  5:  17  f. ;  28:20).  The  three  sacred  pos- 
sessions of  Judaism  have  thus  passed  into  higher  uses, 
as  the  result  of  the  life  of  Jesus,  the  Christian  Messiah. 
It  is  Matthew's  aim  to  justify  this  transition  by  show- 
ing from  the  life  of  Jesus  how  it  was  not  the  claim  of 
a  heretical  sect  who  misread  the  Bible  by  the  light  of 
their  own  presumptuousness,  but  the  realization  of  a 
Divine  purpose  and  the  verification  of  Divine  prophe- 
cies in  the  sphere  of  history"  (Prof.  James  MofTatt, 
"  Int.  to   the   Lit.  of  the  New  Testament,"  p.   244). 

Here  is  no  patchwork  put  together,  with  differing 
thoughts,  by  different  hands  or  by  a  single  editor  who 
strove  to  put  in  all  the  evangelic  matter  he  could 
find.  It  is  a  real  book,  with  a  clearly  defined  thought 
and  a  definite  aim.  The  material  is  selected  with  a 
distinct  purpose  in  view  of  which  we  are  not  left  in  the 
least  doubt. 

This  book  takes  rank,  above  other  books,  for  the 
loftiness  of  its  conception  of  The  World  Messiah.     It 


38  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

is  specially  remarkable  that  Matthew  could  disregard 
his  Jewish  training  and  prejudices  and  grasp  this  view 
of  a  universal  religion. 

It  was  probably  the  first  book  to  bear  the  name  of 
"  The  Gospel "  which  was  afterwards  extended  to 
Mark,  Luke  and  John. 

The  Theology  of  Matthew. — It  is  at  once  "  more 
precisely  Messianic  and  more  definitely  Christian  than 
the  other  Gospels,  in  the  sense  that  Jesus,  as  the  Son 
of  God,  is  more  than  Messiah.  As  the  Son  of  the 
Father  and  as  the  Lord  of  men,  He  occupies  a  place 
which  does  not  depend  upon  any  arguments  from 
prophecy,"  although  these  arguments  are  made  use  of. 

Characteristics  and  Use. — In  shaping  up  this  Gospel 
there  seems  to  have  been  two  things  held  clearly  in 
mind — First :  the  problem  to  be  solved  in  regard  to 
the  person  and  work  of  Jesus  as  The  World  Messiah, 
and — Second :  the  arrangement  of  the  material  of  the 
words  and  works  of  Jesus  for  the  efficient  use  of  teach- 
ers and  evangelists.  Both  of  these  objects  were  ac- 
complished in  a  masterly  way. 

The  number  of  teachers,  prophets  and  evangelists 
multiplied  very  rapidly.  This  rapid  multiplication 
both  helped  and  hindered  the  work  of  the  Church.  It 
helped  when  those  who  taught  others  were,  them- 
selves, rightly  instructed.  It  hindered  when  those 
who  taught  got  twisted  ideas  of  the  truth ;  Paul  con- 
tinually complains  of  false  teachers  who  played  havoc 
with  the  churches  he  had  founded. 

The  use  of  Matthew's  Gospel,  for  the  requirements 


The  Plan  of  Matthew  39 

of  these  agents,  is  plainly  to  be  seen.  "  The  grouping 
of  the  discourses  and  events  might  have  begun  in  the 
oral  Gospels ;  but  in  Matthew,  chapters  5-7  (The 
Sermon  on  the  Mount),  in  the  collection  of  parables, 
chapter  1 3,  and  in  the  eschatological  discourses,  chap- 
ters 24-25,  as  well  as  the  narratives  of  the  Passion  and 
Resurrection,  26-28,  there  seems  to  be  revealed  a 
method  and  a  purpose.  The  evangelical  story,  while 
carrying  out  its  purpose  to  set  forth  The  World 
Messiah,  was  put  in  a  form  which  would  suit  the  mem- 
ory of  teachers  and  hearers." 

The  Certainty  of  Success. — Although  this  Gospel 
was  written  at  a  time  when  Matthew,  humanly  speak- 
ing, could  not  have  been  sure  of  its  success,  yet  there 
is  not  a  single  pessimistic  note  in  it.  He  speaks  with 
the  utmost  confidence  of  the  triumph  of  the  Christ, 
who  is  represented  even  in  the  dark  days  that  pre- 
ceded His  death  as  encouraging  His  followers  to  be- 
lieve in  the  ultimate  triumph  of  His  Kingdom — "  In 
the  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation  but  be  of  good 
cheer  I  have  overcome  the  world." 

Relation  to  the  Old  Testament. — Matthew  was 
placed  next  to  the  Old  Testament  scriptures  because 
it  was  considered  that  it  linked  the  old  dispensation 
with  the  new  more  closely  than  the  other  Gospels.  It 
is  especially  rich  in  Old  Testament  references  and 
quotations,  having  no  parallel  elsewhere.  The  proph- 
ecies are  regarded  as  divinely  given.  The  genealogical 
table  in  the  first  chapter  of  Matthew  is  designed  to 
show   that    Jesus    was    descended    from   David   and 


4-0  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

Abraham,  as  in  accordance  with  prophecy  the 
Messiah  must  be.  This  table  is  a  matter  of  interest 
to  the  writer,  if  not  also  of  argument,  "  That  the  gen- 
erations from  Abraham  to  Moses  are  (by  virtue  of 
slight  omissions  and  double  counting)  divisible  into 
three  groups  of  fourteen  (twice  seven)  generations,  a 
fact  that  suggests  that  the  Messiah  appeared  at  an  ap- 
propriate time,  at  the  end  of  three  periods,  the  cul- 
mination of  each  of  the  two  preceding  of  which  had 
been  marked  by  a  great  event  in  Jewish  history. 
Throughout  the  Gospel,  but  especially  in  the  early  and 
later  parts,  he  calls  attention  to  passages  of  the  Old 
Testament  which  he  interprets  as  finding  their  fulfill- 
ment in  events  of  Jesus'  life  (Matt.  I  :  22  f. ;  2 :  5,  6,  15, 
I7f.,  23;  4:14-16;  8:17;  12:17-21;  13:35; 
21 : 4  f. ;  27 :  9).  These  eleven  passages,  most  of  them 
introduced  by  the  formula,  *  That  it  might  be  fulfilled 
which  was  spoken  through  the  prophet '  (sometimes 
with  the  insertion  of  the  phrase  •  by  the  Lord ' ),  are  a 
marked  feature  of  this  Gospel.  They  are  a  special 
contribution  of  this  evangelist,  having  no  parallel 
passages  in  Mark  or  Luke.  Nor  with  the  exception 
of  Mark  I  :  2,  and  Luke  3  :  4  fif.,  parallel  to  Matthew 
3  :  3,  are  there  any  similar  passages  in  the  other  syn- 
optic Gospels.  They  show,  in  the  clearest  way,  the 
author's  special  interest  in  the  Messianic  prophecies 
of  the  Old  Testament  and  in  their  fulfillment  in  Jesus," 
who  came,  through  the  Jews,  to  found  a  new  spiritual 
kingdom  of  universal  scope,  even  as  their  prophets  had 
foretold. 


The  Plan  of  Matthew  41 

Relation  to  the  Other  Gospels This  topic,  with 

the  time  of  writing,  has  already  been  considered  in  the 
first  study.  It  seems  to  be  very  plain  that  each  evan- 
gelist had  before  him  a  certain  definite  task  in  setting 
forth  the  life  and  work  of  the  Master. 

The  matter  peculiar  to  Matthew,  and  alone  found 
there,  is  as  follows : 

First,  Incidents  :  I.  The  whole  of  chapter  second : 
(a)  The  coming  of  the  Magi,  guided  by  the  star  in  the 
east,  (p)  The  massacre  of  the  innocents,  (c)  The 
flight  into  Egypt,  (d)  The  return  to  Nazareth. 
2.  The  coming  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  to 
John's  baptism  (3 : 7).  3.  Peter's  attempt  to  walk 
upon  the  water  (14  :  28-31).  4.  Payment  of  the  temple 
tax  (17  :  24-27).     5.  In  connection  with  the  Passion: 

(a)  The  covenant  of  Judas  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver; 
his   repentance   and   his  end  (26:14-16;   27:3-10). 

(b)  The  dream  of  Pilate's  wife  (27  :  19).  (c)  The  ap- 
pearance of  saints  in  Jerusalem  (27  :  52).  6.  In  con- 
nection with  the  Resurrection :  (a)  The  watch  place 
at  the  sepulchre  (27  :  62-66).  (&)  The  soldiers  bribed 
to  spread  a  false  report  (28  :  1 1— 15).  (c)  The  earth- 
quake (28 :  2). 

Second,  Discourses  :  1.  A  large  part  of  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount  (chapters  5  to  7).  2.  Invitation  to  the 
heavy  laden  (11  :  28-30).     3.  Idle  words  (12  :  36,  37). 

4.  The   blessing   pronounced   on   Peter  (16:17-19). 

5.  The  greater  part  of  chapter  eighteen  on  humility 
and  forgiveness.  6.  The  rejection  of  the  Jews  (21 :  43). 
7.  The  denunciation  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  as  a 


42  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

connected  discourse  (chapter  23).  8.  The  description 
of  the  judgment  (25  :  31-46).  9.  The  last  commission 
and  promise  (28  :  18-20). 

Third,  Miracles:  I.  Cureof  two  blind  men  (9:  27-31), 
2.  The  stater  in  the  fish's  mouth  (17 :  24-27). 

Fourth,  Parables :  I.  The  tares  (13:  24-30).  2.  The 
hid  treasure  (13:44).  3.  The  pearl  of  great  price 
(13:45,  46).  4.  The  draw  net  (13:47-50).  5.  The 
unmerciful  servant  (18:23-35).  6.  The  laborers  in 
the  vineyard  (20  :  1-16).  7.  The  two  sons  (21  :  28-32). 
8.  Marriage  of  the  king's  son  (22:1-14).  9.  The 
ten  virgins  (25  :  l-*3).  10.  The  talents  (25  :  14-30) 
("  Intro.  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools  and  Colleges — 
Matthew  "). 

Relation  to  Our  Age. — The  book  of  Matthew  is 
timeless  in  its  great  message  to  all  men  of  all  classes 
and  conditions  in  all  ages.  It  comes  with  the  same 
pertinency  to  our  age  as  it  came  to  that  in  which  it 
saw  the  light.  It  will  come  to  future  ages  with  the 
same  blessed  truth.  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Saviour  of  all 
mankind — to  all  who  trust  in  Him.  All  else  may  fail, 
but  He  cannot  fail.  He  will  not  be  judged  by  any 
civilization,  but  He  will  judge  all  civilizations — those 
which  do  not  heed  His  message  will  be  cast  aside. 
His  last  command  is  still  sounding  forth — a  world 
message  from  The  World  Saviour — "  All  power  is 
given  unto  Me  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  Go  ye  there- 
fore and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost : 
teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have 


The  Plan  of  Matthew  43 

commanded  you :  and  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world  "  (28  :  18-20). 

QUESTIONS 
What  is  the  aim  of  Matthew's  Gospel  ?  What  is  its  prob- 
lem? How  can  Jesus  Christ  be  the  world  Messiah?  What 
are  the  four  points  in  the  argument?  What  can  be  said  of 
the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  as  a  world  religion  ?  For  what 
readers  was  this  Gospel,  primarily,  intended  ?  What  of  the 
times  in  which  it  saw  its  final  form  ?  What  can  be  said  of 
its  authorship  ?  What  can  be  said  of  the  making  of  this 
Gospel  ?  What  of  its  unity  ?  What  is  its  theology  ?  What 
are  its  characteristics  and  use  ?  What  of  the  certainty  of 
success  ?  What  is  its  relation  to  the  Old  Testament  ?  What 
is  its  relation  to  the  other  Gospels  ?  What  matter  is  peculiar 
to  Matthew  ?    What  is  its  relation  to  our  age  ? 


STUDY  III 

THE  WORLD'S  MESSIAH 

The  Great  Question,  in  the  early  age  of  the  Church, 
was — "  Who  is  Jesus  ?  Who  do  men  say  the  Son  of 
Man  is  ?  "  The  entire  record  of  the  New  Testament 
is  intended  to  furnish  an  answer  to  this  question  (John 
6  :  42  ;  7 :  40-43).  The  solution  is  shown  in  Matthew 
16:  16  and  John  20 :  31.  The  earliest  declaration  was 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ — the  Messiah  (Acts  2  :  36;  17  : 
3;  18:5,28).  The  first  converts  were  baptized  into 
the  name  of  Jesus  (Acts  2  :  38  ;  10 :  48  ;  19:5;  Rom. 

10:9). 

Both  Jews  and  Gentiles  would  want  to  know — as  we 
do — whether  Jesus  corresponded  to  the  prophetic 
description  of  the  Messiah.  They  would  also  want  to 
know  how  from  being  the  Jews'  Messiah  He  came  to 
be  the  World's  Messiah.  Here  is  the  task  of  Mat- 
thew's Gospel.  To  grasp  the  significance  of  the  un- 
folding of  this  movement  this  Gospel  needs  to  be 
studied  section  by  section  and  chapter  by  chapter. 

The  Coming  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  Messiah,  was 
a  Historic  World  Movement  of  Which  the  Outer 
Form  was  Hebrew. — "  A  distinguishing  feature  of 
Matthew  is  his  philosophic  grasp  of  the  ministry  of 

44 


The  World's  Messiah  45 

Jesus  Christ  as  a  great  historic  movement.  Mark, 
Luke  and  John,  with  Matthew,  use  repeatedly  the 
phrase  '  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven '  or  •  the  Kingdom 
of  God/  which  must  have  been  a  regular  expression 
of  Jesus  Himself.  Of  the  use  of  this  phrase  one  hun- 
dred and  eleven  times  in  the  four  evangelists  Matthew 
uses  it  forty-seven  times.  But  he  is  wholly  occupied 
in  tracing  the  development  of  this  '  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  ' :  its  development  as  a  conception,  from  a 
mere  idea  of  a  counterpart  to  the  Roman  Empire, 
which  animated  those  who  first  hailed  the  Baptist's 
announcement,  to  the  conception  of  a  universal  spiri- 
tual kingdom  founded  on  service  and  self-denial,  which 
Jesus  with  such  difficulty  inculcated  in  the  minds  of 
the  inner  circle  of  disciples ;  the  development  again 
of  a  visible  ■  Kingdom  of  Heaven  '  in  human  society, 
in  antagonism  with  the  ruling  powers  which  crushed 
it  only  to  give  it  its  power  of  finally  rising.  It  is 
natural  that  a  historian  of  this  type  should  give  special 
prominence  to  the  discourses  of  Jesus. 

"  Matthew  gives  that  which  the  modern  mind  seeks, 
a  connected  view  of  the  most  sacred  incidents.  We 
get  a  view,  through  him,  of  the  flowering  of  Old 
Testament  history.  The  historic  books  of  the  Old 
Testament  are  the  story  of  a  theocracy  in  conflict  with 
the  secular :  a  national  sense  of  divine  kingship  is 
gradually  dissipated  by  assimilation  to  the  visible 
government  of  the  surrounding  peoples.  Thus  the 
Old  Testament  history  is  a  history  of  failure:  the 
secular  government  culminates  in  national  exile,  and 


46  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

the  restored  Jewish  Church  becomes  spiritual  at  the 
price  of  increased  exclusiveness.  A  truer  conclusion 
to  the  history  of  the  Old  Testament  is  found  in  the 
Gospel  of  Matthew ;  here  a  ■  Kingdom  of  God  '  that  is 
essentially  spiritual  is  seen  developing  in  conflict  with 
secular  powers  which  drive  out  of  it  all  that  is  not  spir- 
itual, eternal  and  universal.  There  can  be  no  more 
fitting  close  for  this  narrative  of  Matthew  than  his 
brief  picture  of  the  risen  Lord,  on  the  mountain  of  as- 
cension, giving  to  the  band  of  disciples  the  command 
to  make  disciples  of  all  nations,  animated  by  a  pres- 
ence that  will  be  in  their  midst  even  to  the  end  of  the 
world  "  ("  The  Modern  Reader's  Bible—Matthew  "). 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  GOSPEL  OF  MATTHEW 

The  Gospel  of  Matthew  seems  to  be  naturally  di- 
vided into  three  parts. 

First. — Early  Days  of  the  Messiah  (1 :  1-4 :  16). 

The  second  and  third  parts  are  introduced  by  the 
words — "  From  that  time"  (4  \\J  and  16:  21). 

Secojtd. — Signs  and  works  of  the  Messiah —  "  From 
that  time  Jesus  began  to  preach  and  to  say,  Repent : 
for  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand"  (4:17- 
16 :  20). 

Third. — Passion  of  the  Messiah — "  From  that  time 
forth  began  Jesus  to  shew  unto  His  disciples  how  He 
must  go  unto  Jerusalem,  and  suffer  many  things  of  the 
elders  and  chief  priests  and  scribes,  and  be  killed  and 
be  raised  again  the  third  day"  (16 :  21-28 :  20). 


The  World's  Messiah  47 

EARLY  DAYS  OF  THE  MESSIAH 
(1:1-4:  16) 

Matthew  sees  in  Jesus  the  fulfillment  of  Messianic 
prophecy  in  His  preparation  for  the  World's  Mes- 
siahship.  The  Old  Testament  is  continually  before 
his  eyes  as  he  writes  his  story.  In  the  first  two  chap- 
ters he  makes  six  references  to  the  fulfillment  of  the 
prophecies  of  the  Messiah  in  Jesus  Christ. 

7.  The  birth  (1  : 1-25). — Jesus  is  of  the  royal  line 
of  David.  He  comes  in  accordance  with  prophecy. 
Joseph  is  told  to  call  His  name  Jesus — "  For  He  shall 
save  His  people  from  their  sins."  Matthew  hails  Him 
at  the  outset  as  the  true  Emanuel  for — "  They  shall 
call  His  name  Emanuel,  which  being  interpreted  is, 
'God  with  us."' 

2.  The  wise  men  (2  :  1-23)  coming  to  the  birth  of 
Jesus,  ask,  "  Where  is  He  that  is  born  King  of  the 
Jews  ?  for  we  have  seen  His  star  in  the  east  and  are 
come  to  worship  Him."  All  this  moves  on  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  prophets  whom  Matthew  quotes. 
Even  the  going  into  Egypt,  and  the  return  to  Naza- 
reth, to  him  is  part  of  a  prearranged  program. 

j.  The  Herald  of  the  Messiah  is  John  the  Baptist 
(3:1-12). — He  comes,  "  saying,  Repent  ye:  for  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."  Again  Matthew  links 
up  his  narrative  by  referring  back  to  an  Old  Testa- 
ment prophet — "  For  this  is  he  that  was  spoken  of  by 
the  prophet  Esaias,  saying,  The  voice  of  one  crying 
in  the  wilderness,  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord, 
make  His  paths  straight." 


48  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

4..  The  threefold  testimony  to  Jesus  by  John,  "  the 
Sprit  of  God  "  and  "  a  Voice  from  Heaven  "(3:1 1-17) 
at  the  baptism.  Here  Matthew  strikes  a  new  note  in 
reporting  what  the  "  Voice  from  Heaven "  said — 
"  This  is  my  beloved  Son  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased." 
"  Jesus  as  the  Son  of  God  is  more  than  Messiah.  As 
the  Son  of  the  Father  and  as  the  Lord  of  men,  He 
occupies  a  place  which  does  not  depend  on  any  argu- 
ments from  prophecy  "  (Prof.  James  MofTatt,  "  The 
Theology  of  the  Gospels,"  p.  13).  Thus  early  in  this 
Gospel  is  shown  its  teaching  of  the  unique  relation  of 
Jesus  Christ — who  came  through  prophecy — to  God 
the  Father. 

5.  The  three  temptations  (4:1-11). — We  have 
here  clearly  set  forth  the  objects  and  aims  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  as  opposed  to  the  Kingdom  of 
Evil.  As  the  true  Messiah  Jesus  here  rejects  the 
unreal  greatness  which  was  the  aim  of  all  false  Mes- 
siahs. These  temptations  cover  the  same  ground  as 
"  the  lust  of  the  flesh,"  the  "  lust  of  the  eyes  "  and 
"  the  pride  of  life." 

To  understand  these  temptations  it  should  be  kept 
in  mind  that  the  Jews  at  this  time  expected  a  miracle- 
working  Christ  who  would  dazzle  them  by  His  power  ; 
a  Messiah  who  would  suddenly  leap  to  political  great- 
ness and  put  all  kingdoms,  at  once,  under  Him  and 
His  nation.  For  Jesus  to  have  yielded  to  these  ex- 
pectations would  have  placed  Him  at  the  head  of  a 
great  national  movement,  while  defeating,  in  the  end, 
the   real  purpose   of  His   coming.     It  must  also  be 


The  World's  Messiah  49 

remembered  that  as  God-man  that  He  was  subject  to 
limitations  and  ambitions  from  the  human  side  of  His 
being.  The  appeals  to  assume  command  of  the  king- 
doms of  the  world  and  to  cast  Himself  down  from  a 
pinnacle  of  the  temple  were  real  temptations  to  make 
His  name  and  claims  at  once  known  in  a  startling 
way,  and  He  had  the  power  to  do  it.  In  remaining 
true  to  His  mission,  Jesus  gives  His  answer  to  the 
Tempter  in  the  words  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures. 

6.  The  departure  of  Jesus  into  Galilee  (4:  12-16). 
— Again  Matthew  turns  to  an  old  prophet  and  de- 
clares that  this  is  in  accordance  with  what  Isaiah  said 
should  come  to  pass  (Isa.  9:1,2) — "The  land  of 
Zabulon  and  the  land  of  Nephthalim,  by  the  way  of 
the  sea,  beyond  Jordan,  Galilee  of  the  Gentiles :  the 
people  which  sat  in  darkness  saw  great  light ;  and  to 
them  which  sat  in  the  region  and  shadow  of  death 
light  is  sprung  up." 

In  reading  the  account  of  the  "  Early  Days  of  the 
Messiah  "  as  given  in  this  Gospel  it  is  plainly  shown 
that  the  writer  believes  that  He  came,  in  due  time,  in 
accordance  with  Old  Testament  prophecy.  Here  is 
the  first  element  in  the  answer  that  was  sought  for  the 
question — "  Who  is  Jesus  ?  " 

SIGNS  AND  WORKS  OF  THE  MESSIAH 
(4:  17-16:  20) 

This  section  opens  with  the  words — "  From  that 
time  Jesus  began  to  preach  and  to  say,  Repent,  for 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand  "  (4  :  17).     It  con- 


50  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

eludes  with  the  great  declaration  of  Peter,  and  Jesus' 
acceptance  of  that  declaration,  "  Thou  art  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  the  living  God"  (16  :  13-20). 

1.  The  public  ministry  in  Galilee. — It  seems  to  be 
a  part  of  the  plan  of  Matthew  to  omit  the  events  of 
the  first  year  of  Jesus'  work  in  the  south — another 
evangelist  has  taken  that  up.  In  the  account  given 
in  4 :  17-25  we  find  Jesus  in  the  full  swing  of  a  mag- 
nificent work. 

Galilee,  where  Jesus  now  was,  had  an  area  of  about 
sixteen  hundred  square  miles  of  territory.  Josephus 
tells  us  that  there  were  two  hundred  and  four  towns — 
each  town  having  over  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants. 
The  whole  population  numbered  about  three  millions. 
A  large  commerce  was  carried  on  with  the  outer 
world.  Through  Galilee  ran  the  great  caravan  routes 
from  the  near  and  far  east  to  the  Mediterranean  Sea 
and  Egypt.  In  many  respects  Galilee  was  better 
fitted  for  proclaiming  the  Gospel  of  the  new  Kingdom 
than  Judea,  which  was  a  little  to  one  side  of  the  great 
routes  of  travel  and  world  commerce.  Capernaum,  the 
city  which  Christ  chose  for  His  headquarters,  was  the 
strategic  point  in  Galilee. 

2.  The  call  of  the  four  disciples  (4  :  18-22),  Peter 
and  Andrew,  James  and  John.  This  is  the  first  step 
taken  by  Jesus  in  the  organization  of  His  work  and 
in  training  men  for  service. 

j.  The  fame  of  Jesus  (4  :  23-25). — He  made  tours 
in  all  directions  about  Galilee,  "  preaching  the  Gospel 
of  the  Kingdom  and  healing  all  manner  of  sickness 


The  World's  Messiah  51 

and  all  manner  of  disease  among  the  people."  "  In  a 
short  time  the  whole  province  was  ringing  with  His 
name;  He  was  the  subject  of  conversation  in  every 
house  in  the  whole  region ;  men's  minds  were  stirred 
with  the  profoundest  excitement  and  every  one  desired 
to  see  Him.  Crowds  began  to  gather  about  Him. 
They  grew  larger  and  larger.  They  multiplied  into 
many  thousands.  They  followed  Him  wherever  He 
went.  The  news  spread  far  and  wide  and  brought 
hosts  from  Jerusalem,  Judea,  Perea,  even  from  Idumea, 
in  the  far  south,  and  Tyre  and  Sidon,  in  the  far  north. 
He  could  not  stay  in  any  town  because  the  crowds 
blocked  up  the  streets  and  trod  upon  one  another. 
He  had  to  take  them  out  to  the  fields  and  deserts. 
The  whole  country  was  on  fire  with  excitement  about 
Him." 

What  caused  all  this  excitement?  There  were 
doubtless  a  number  of  elements  in  it;  the  marvellous 
healing  power  of  Jesus  would  be  one ;  another  would 
be  His  gracious  words  of  teaching ;  these  two  powers 
were  largely  exerted.  Still  another  would  be  the  feel- 
ing that  He  was  the  Messiah :  the  preaching  of  the 
Baptist  had  prepared  the  way  for  this. 

4..  The  teaching — the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  (chap- 
ters 5  to  7). — It  had  been  seen  what  Jesus  could 
do ;  now  what  had  He  to  say  ?  Here  is  a  statement 
of  the  principles  of  the  "  Kingdom  of  Heaven  "  from 
His  own  lips.  Here  are  characteristic  examples  of  His 
teaching. 

The  Beatitudes  form  a  text  for  the  sermon  and  are 


52  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

an  appeal  to  the  inner  life.  The  sermon  has  been 
analyzed  as  follows :  (a)  The  righteousness  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  described  and  its  rewards  an- 
nounced (5  :  2-9).  (b)  The  righteousness  as  exhibited 
in  life  (5  :  10-16).  (c)  Relations  of  this  new  right- 
eousness to  the  righteousness  of  the  Old  Testament 
— revealed  first  in  ethics  and  second  in  religion 
(5  :  17-6:  18).  (d)  Relations  of  the  new  righteous- 
ness to  secular  life  (6 :  19-34).  (*)  The  teaching  of 
the  new  righteousness ;  precepts  and  warnings  to 
disciples  as  teachers  (7  :  1-23).  (/)  Consequences  of 
the  acceptance  or  rejection  of  the  precepts  of  the  new 
righteousness  (7 :  24-27). 

He  is  no  teacher  guessing  at  the  truth,  "  For  He 
taught  them  as  one  having  authority  and  not  as  the 
scribes." 

The  difference  in  the  principles  here  set  forth,  from 
the  old,  lies  upon  the  surface.  The  opening  sentence 
(5  :  3),  "  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,"  shows  how 
Jesus  shifted  the  center  of  gravity  for  human  life  and 
conduct.  Here  is  a  new  and  startling  doctrine.  It 
is  a  great  turning  point  in  teaching.  It  is  to  the  poor 
in  spirit  that  the  exaltation  of  the  new  Kingdom 
comes.  We  note  its  reiteration  in  the  sevenfold  ex- 
pansion. "  The  mourners  are  blessed,  and  not  the 
gay ;  the  meek,  and  not  the  mighty ;  those  who  hunger 
after  a  righteousness  they  had  not  attained,  and  not 
the  satisfied  Pharisee ;  the  pure  and  not  the  worldly ; 
the  peacemaker  and  not  the  conqueror ;  the  persecutor 
is   beneath  his  victim.     Again,  in  contrast  with  the 


The  World's  Messiah  53 

received  ideal  of  a  personal  righteousness  that  would 
outshine  that  of  others,  the  second  and  third  maxims, 
with  their  images  of  the  salt  and  the  lamp,  put  forward 
an  exaltation  that  exalted  only  so  long  as  it  exerts  its 
purifying  and  illuminating  force  on  others."  This 
teaching  does  not  relax  the  law  but  intensifies  it.  The 
new  righteousness  must  exceed  that  of  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees. 

It  is  difficult  to  realize,  in  our  age,  what  a  startling 
doctrine  Jesus  presented.  The  Jews  were  not  looking 
for  any  new  doctrines  of  life  and  conduct ;  they  were 
looking  for  a  Messiah — a  Jewish  Caesar — who  could 
make  every  other  nation  bow  to  theirs.  They  failed 
utterly  to  comprehend  the  majesty  of  this  new  spiritual 
Kingdom  of  Christ.  Its  conception  was  so  far  beyond 
them  that  they  did  not  at  first  see  how  it  condemned 
and  cast  aside  all  the  things  in  which  they  had  so 
fondly  trusted.  When  they  did  see,  the  bitter  antag- 
onism, which  drove  Jesus  to  His  death,  began  to  mani- 
fest itself. 

5.  The  authority  of  Jesus  is  shown  by  many  signs 
— miracles — of  power  (chapters  8  and  9).  These  are 
recorded  as  proofs  that  the  Messiah,  the  Lord  of 
Glory,  has  come  and  has  control  over  disease  (8:2); 
over  nature  (8  :  26)  ;  and  over  death  (9 :  25).  They 
also  show  Christ's  great  love  and  compassion  for  man. 
They  follow,  in  order,  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  to  re- 
inforce its  teaching.  In  9:9  is  recorded  the  call  of 
Matthew. 

6.  Workers — the   twelve  apostles — are  sent  forth 


54  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

to  proclaim  the  good  news  of  the  coming  Kingdom 
(10  :  i-i  I  :  i).  They  were  the  heralds  of  the  Messianic 
King  and  Kingdom.  They  were  to  preach,  saying, 
"  The  kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand."  The  people 
were  eager  to  hear  this  Gospel.  They  were  not  only 
to  preach  but  also  "  to  heal  the  sick,  cleanse  the  lepers, 
raise  the  dead,  cast  out  devils  "  ;  they  were  to  give  as 
freely  as  they  had  received.  They  were  to  go  "  to  the 
lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel."  The  door  was  not 
yet  opened  to  the  Gentiles. 

j.  The  question  of  the  Messiahship  (n  :  2-1 5)  was 
definitely  brought  to  the  front  and  definitely  answered 
when  John  the  Baptist,  in  prison  and  discouraged, 
sent  disciples  to  Jesus  to  settle  the  matter,  which  Jesus 
did.  All  this  was  in  accordance  with  what  Isaiah 
(29  :  18  and  35  : 4-6)  said  should  take  place  when  the 
Messiah  should  come ;  the  blind  should  see,  the  lame 
walk,  the  lepers  be  cleansed,  etc.  Jesus  makes  it  plain 
that  He  is  the  Messiah. 

8.  The  beginning  of  the  rejection  of  the  Messiah 
(11  :  16-24)  which  Jesus  sees  in  the  hostile  attitude  of 
Chorazin,  Bethsaida  and  Capernaum.  Jesus  turns  to 
the  true  hearted  who  could  receive  His  message  (11: 
25-30). 

p.  The  issue  is  joined  betwee?i  the  Pharisees  and 
Jesus  (12  :  1-50)  when  they  would  not  or  could  not 
understand  His  message  in  regard  to  the  glory  of  the 
new  Spiritual  Kingdom  of  God  and  fixed  their  hopes 
upon  a  great  material  earthly  kingdom.  This  grow- 
ing antagonism  is  well  shown  in  this  chapter  in  the 


The  WorlcTs  Messiah  55 

controversies  which  arose  out  of  the  true  use  of  the 
Sabbath  Day  and  the  means  by  which  Christ  per- 
formed His  miracles  ;  the  accusation  of  His  being  in 
league  with  Beelzebub  is  fully  refuted.  Again  in  re- 
gard to  the  claims  of  Christ  (12  :  17-20)  Matthew  re- 
fers back  to  the  prophet  Isaiah.  Here  also  we  find 
the  beginning  of  the  turning  to  the  Gentiles — The 
World  Messiah — brought  out  (12  :  21). 

10.  The  new  teaching  by  parables  in  regard  to 
the  nezv  Kingdom  (13:  1— 58).  These  seven  parables 
— "  The  Sower,"  "  The  Tares,"  "  The  Mustard  Seed," 
11  The  Leaven,"  "  The  Treasure  Hid  in  the  Field," 
"  The  Pearl  of  Great  Price  "  and  "  The  Net,"— show 
the  different  aspects  and  purposes  of  the  Kingdom,  its 
growth  and  how  it  is  received. 

11.  A  great  crisis  in  the  ministry  is  shown  when 
John  the  Baptist  is  killed  by  Herod  Antipas  (14 : 
1-36).  The  story  of  the  "  wicked  king  and  the  faith- 
ful prophet "  is  well  brought  out  in  the  Scripture  nar- 
rative. As  the  excitement,  due  to  the  murder  of  John 
the  Baptist,  might  lead  to  a  political  insurrection,  and 
it  seemed  to  be  a  part  of  the  plan  of  Jesus  to  have  no 
connection  with  it,  He  withdraws  "  into  a  desert  place 
apart"  (14:  13-36).  The  common  people,  who  have 
not  yet  broken  with  Him,  seek  Him  out.  He  heals 
their  sick  and  gives  a  great  feast  to  five  thousand. 
He  walks  on  the  water  and  His  disciples  worship  Him 
as  the  Son  of  God  (14:  22-33).  Thus  another  stage 
is  reached  in  the  conception  of  the  place  and  power 
of  the  Christ. 


56  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

12.  The  contrast  between  Jewish  legalism  and  the 
principles  of  the  new  Kingdom  is  clearly  brought  out 
by  Jesus  (15  : 1-16:  12).  It  is  shown  why  there  can 
be  no  compromise  (Isa.  29 :  1 3).  They  stand  for 
things  between  which,  and  those  which  Christ  advo- 
cated, there  can  be  reconciliation.  The  Pharisees, 
looking  for  outward  conformity  to  law  with  no  thought 
of  the  inner  righteousness,  love,  justice  and  mercy 
which  Christ  so  loved  to  set  forth,  could  find  only  one 
way  of  ending  the  controversy  and  that  was  by  com- 
passing the  death  of  Christ,  which  they  began  to  plot. 

ij.  The  great  declaration  of  Peter — "  Thou  art  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God  " — to  which  Jesus 
answered,  in  acceptance  of  the  title — "  Blessed  art  thou 
Simon  Barjona  ;  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed 
it  unto  thee  but  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven  "  (16  : 
1 6,  17).  The  time  and  place  of  this  unveiling  of  the 
majesty  of  the  Christ  was  on  a  journey  to  the  coasts 
of  Caesarea  Philippi  (16:13-20).  There  can  be  no 
doubt  now  in  the  unfolding  of  the  plan  for  The  World 
Messiah:  while  the  time  waits  a  little  for  the  full 
revelation  (16 :  20). 

PASSION  OF  THE  MESSIAH 
(16  :  21-28  :  20) 
This  section  opens  with  the  words — "  From  that 
time  forth  began  Jesus  to  shew  unto  His  disciples  how 
that  He  must  go  unto  Jerusalem,  and  suffer  many 
things  of  the  elders  and  chief  priests  and  scribes,  and 
be  killed,  and  be  raised  again  the  third  day  "  (16 :  21). 


The  World's  Messiah  57 

It  seems  to  be  quite  evident  that  Matthew  intended 
to  mark  here  the  beginning  of  a  new  division  of  his 
book  and  of  a  new  period  of  the  work  of  Jesus,  char- 
acterized by  the  preparation  of  His  disciples  for  His 
death.  "  It  is  already  clear  that  He  must  die  at  the 
hands  of  the  Jews,  and  in  Jerusalem ;  and  moreover 
that  the  minds  of  the  disciples  must  be  prepared  for 
this  event.  From  this  time  on,  the  evangelist  indi- 
cates, this  preparation  fills  a  prominent  place  in  Jesus' 
work  and  His  face  is  towards  Jerusalem,  where  He  is 
to  die,"  and  be  raised  the  third  day.  Peter  is  taken  to 
task  for  his  adverse  criticism  (16 :  22,  23). 

/.  Jesus  makes  four  predictions  of  His  humiliation, 
suffering,  death  and  resurrection  beginning  with  the 
one  recorded  in  16:21-23.  Notice  how  when  He 
predicts  His  death,  He  also  predicts  His  rising  again 
from  the  dead ;  there  is  this  hopeful  uplifting  note. 

First. — At  Csesarea  Philippi  (16  :  21). 

Second. — At  Capernaum  (17  :  22,  23). 

Third. — Near  Jerusalem  (20  :  18,  19). 

Fourth. — At  Jerusalem  (26  :  1,  2). 

2.  The  certainty  of  the  triumph  of  Christ  in  the 
end,  and  the  reward  of  those  who  follow  Him,  is  made 
known  in  unmistakable  words — "  For  the  Son  of  man 
shall  come  in  the  glory  of  His  Father  with  His  angels ; 
and  then  He  shall  reward  every  man  according  to  his 
works"  (16:  24-28). 

J.  The  transfiguration,  wherein  Jesus  is  declared 
to  be  the  Son  of  God  (17 :  1-27).  This  is  a  glorious 
manifestation   of  the   majesty  of  the  Christ.     Moses 


58  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

and  Elias,  who  appeared  on  the  mount,  were  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  law  and  prophecy.  This  evidence 
of  the  greatness  of  the  Messiah — coming  now  to  the 
estate  of  The  World  Messiah — as  the  Son  of  God,  was 
a  strong  consolation  to  the  disciples  in  the  dark  days 
that  followed  (17 :  1-13).  The  casting  out  of  an  evil 
spirit  (17  :  14-21).  Another  prediction  of  Christ  of 
His  death  and  resurrection  (17  :  22,  23).  The  giving 
tribute  (17  :  24-27). 

4.  Jesus  instructs  His  disciples  in  regard  to  the 
meaning  of  ambition,  humility,  forgiveness  and  com- 
passion in  the  Kingdom  of  God  (18  :  1-35). 

5.  The  last  journey — through  Perea  to  Jerusalem 
(19:1-20:34).  He  still  continues  His  healing  min- 
istry. He  answers  the  Pharisees  concerning  divorce. 
He  blesses  little  children.  He  answers  the  question 
of  the  rich  young  ruler  about  eternal  life.  He  gives 
instruction  on  riches  and  rewards  of  discipleship.  He 
again  foretells  His  crucifixion.  He  is  unceasing  in 
His  efforts  to  make  known  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

6.  The  last  days  in  Jerusalem — Passion  Week  (2 1  : 
1-27 :  66).  The  last  offer  of  Jesus,  of  Himself,  as  the 
Jews'  Messiah  and  His  final  rejection. 

Symbolic  proclamation  of  Himself  as  the  Messiah 
— the  triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem  and  the  cleans- 
ing of  the  temple  (21 :  1-17). 

Symbolic  prediction  to  the  disciples  of  the  rejection 
of  the  nation  (21  :  18-22). 

The  mutual  rejection.  The  Jews  resist  the  claim 
of  Jesus ;  He  reiterates   His  warning  and   prediction 


The  World's  Messiah  59 

(21 :  23-23:  39).  The  Jews  challenge  His  authority. 
The  three  parables  of  warning — (1)  The  two  sons ; 
(2)  The  husbandman ;  (3)  The  marriage  of  the  king's 
son.  Three  questions  of  the  Jewish  rulers — (1)  Pay- 
ing tribute  ?  (2)  The  resurrection  ?  (3)  The  greatest 
commandment  ?  Here  is  shown  the  sad  plight  of  the 
nation  which  has  rejected  Him  as  the  Messiah ;  it  is 
in  turn  rejected  (21  123-22:40).  The  Jews  are  si- 
lenced with  His  question — "  What  think  ye  of  Christ  ?  " 
(22 :  41-46). 

A  discourse  of  Jesus  against  the  Pharisees — showing 
their  corrupt  doctrines  and  practices — closing  with  a 
lament  over  Jerusalem  and  the  pronouncing  of  the 
final  judgment,  "  Behold  your  house  is  left  unto  you 
desolate  "  (23  :  1-39). 

Prophetic  discourse  to  the  disciples  concerning  the 
end   of  the   nation  and  the  end  of  the  age  (24 :  I- 

25  :  46). 

Preparation  for  the  death  of  Jesus — (1)  by  His  ene- 
mies, the  plot  to  put  Him  to  death ;  (2)  by  His 
friends,  the  anointing;  (3)  by  Judas,  the  bargain  to 
betray  Him;  (4)  by  Jesus  Himself;  the  Last  Supper; 
the  warning  to  the  disciples ;  the  prayer  and  the 
agony  (26 :  1-46). 

The  consummation  of  the  rejection  of  Jesus  by  the 
Jews — the  arrest,  the  trial  (in  which  Jesus  declares 
Himself  to  be  the  Christ — 26  :  62-66),  the  crucifixion 
and  death,  the  burial  and  the  watch  at  the  tomb 
(26  :  47-27  :  66). 

The    Risen    Lord    and   the    World's    Messiah 


6o  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

(28  :  1-20). — The  resurrection  of  Jesus.  The  appear- 
ance on  the  resurrection  morning,  the  report  of  the 
watch  and  the  attempt  of  the  Jews  to  suppress  the 
evidence.  The  appearance  in  Galilee  and  the  universal 
nature  of  the  new  Kingdom  with  its  world-wide  mes- 
sage. The  commission  of  the  disciples  by  "  The 
World's  Messiah  "  to  win  all  nations  to  Him. 

The  Victory  of  the  Christ. — With  the  crucifixion 
of  Christ  and  the  placing  of  His  body  in  the  tomb 
His  career  seemed  to  be  ended.  But  with  the  resur- 
rection all  was  changed.  The  very  means  taken  by 
His  enemies  to  suppress  Him  produced  the  beginning 
of  a  triumph — the  glorious  consummation  of  which  no 
man  can  foretell. 

QUESTIONS 

What  was  the  great  question  in  the  early  age  of  the 
Church  ?  What  can  be  said  for  the  coming  of  Jesus  Christ 
as  a  world  movement  ?  What  of  the  analysis  of  this  Gospel 
— into  how  many  parts  is  it  naturally  divided  ?  Under  the 
first  head,  or  section,  what  did  Matthew  see  in  Jesus? 
What  can  be  said  of  the  birth  of  Jesus  ?  The  wise  men  ? 
The  Herald  ?  The  threefold  testimony  to  Jesus,  by  John, 
the  Spirit  and  a  Voice  ?  What  were  the  three  temptations  ? 
Under  the  second  section — How  does  it  open,  with  what 
words  ?  What  can  be  said  of  the  public  ministry  of  Christ 
in  Galilee  ?  The  call  of  the  four  ?  The  fame  of  Jesus  ? 
The  teaching  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  ?  The  authority 
of  Jesus  ?  The  workers  sent  out  ?  How  was  the  question 
of  the  Messiahship  definitely  brought  to  the  front  ?  What 
was  the  beginning  of  the  rejection  of  the  Messiah  ?     How 


The  World's  Messiah  61 

was  the  issue  joined  between  Jesus  and  the  Pharisees? 
What  was  the  new  teaching  by  parables  ?  What  marked  a 
great  crisis  in  the  ministry?  Give  the  contrast  between 
Jewish  legalism  and  the  principles  of  Christ.  What  was  the 
great  declaration  of  Peter  ?  What  did  Jesus  say  about  it  ? 
Under  the  third  section — With  what  words  does  Matthew 
open  it  ?  Where  does  Jesus  make  four  predictions  of  His 
death  and  resurrection?  What  does  Jesus  say  about  the 
certainty  of  His  triumph  ?  How  was  Jesus  declared  to  be 
"  The  Son  of  God  "  at  the  transfiguration  ?  What  can  be 
said  about  Jesus'  instruction  to  His  disciples?  About  His 
last  journey  to  Jerusalem  ?  What  can  be  said  in  regard  to 
Jesus  proclaiming  Himself  as  the  Messiah  ?  His  rejection 
by  the  Jews  ?  Jesus'  rejection  of  the  Israelitish  nation  ? 
What  of  the  prophetic  discourse  of  Jesus  in  regard  to  the 
end  of  the  nation  ?  What  of  the  death  of  Jesus  ?  What 
can  be  said  of  the  Risen  Lord  and  the  world's  Messiah  ? 
What  of  the  world-wide  commission?  What  of  the  tri- 
umph of  the  Christ  ? 


STUDY  IV 

THE  OBJECT  OF  MARK 

The  New  View-Point. — Jesus  Christ  is  presented 
in  the  Gospel  of  Mark  as  The  Mighty  Worker — "  The 
Son  of  God."  It  is  the  same  story  as  that  of  the  other 
evangelists  but  a  new  aspect  is  brought  out  to  meet 
the  need  of  the  Gentiles  who  looked  at  things  differ- 
ently from  the  Jews.  Mark,  following  Peter,  in  min- 
gling with  the  Gentiles,  had  come  to  understand  some- 
thing of  their  way  of  thinking.  What  they  wanted  to 
know  about  any  one  who  was  brought  to  their  atten- 
tion was,  not  who  his  ancestors  were  or  what  they  had 
done,  but  what  he  was  and  what  he  could  do  by  him- 
self alone.  What  was  his  message  and  how  could  he 
substantiate  it  ?  Hence  we  find  in  this  Gospel  very 
few  references  to  Jesus  as  the  Jewish  Messiah ;  the 
birth  story  and  the  genealogy  are  omitted ;  these 
would  have  comparatively  small  interest  to  the  Gentile 
Romans. 

7  he  emphasis  is  placed  upon  what  Christ  is  in 
Himself.  It  is  "  The  beginning  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God  "  (i :  i).  He  begins  to  speak 
and  His  word  is  law  (i :  22-45).  He  is  power  incar- 
nate.    He  heals  all  manner  of  disease.     He  casts  out 

62 


The  Object  of  Mark  63 

unclean  spirits.  When  He  speaks  there  is  instant 
obedience.  Everything  is  done  with  celerity ;  the 
words  "  straightway  "  and  "  immediately  "  are  used 
over  forty  times  to  show  how  quickly  the  results  He 
desires  are  accomplished.  Men  are  amazed  at  the 
omnipotence  of  His  command  and  His  fame  imme- 
diately spreads  through  Galilee  (1 :  28). 

The  appeal  is  not  for  Jesus  in  relation  to  the  past 
or  the  Old  Testament  prophecies,  so  potent  with  the 
Jew,  but  "  Jesus  as  He  appeared  to  His  contempo- 
raries in,  and  a  powerful  factor  of,  the  history  of  His 
own  times."  The  narrative  is  confined  to  the  most 
active  period  of  Jesus'  life,  chiefly  to  the  busy  Galilean 
ministry  and  the  still  more  crowded  Passion  Week. 
It  is  rapid,  picturesque,  condensed,  abrupt.  It  re- 
minds one  of  the  words  of  Peter  :  "  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
a  man  approved  of  God  unto  you  by  mighty  works 
and  wonders  and  signs  which  God  did  by  Him  in  the 
midst  of  you  "  (Acts  2  :  22). 

The  theology  of  Mark  "  is  not  a  description  of  how 
a  genial  humanitarian  Jesus  went  about  doing  good, 
unconscious  of  any  specific  divine  functions.  Mark's 
Gospel  is  the  story  of  Jesus  as  a  supernatural  figure, 
compelling  homage  from  the  invisible  world  of  de- 
mons, and  exercising  the  powers  of  divine  forgiveness 
and  authority  on  earth  as  Son  of  God  and  Son  of 
Man.  He  essays  to  make  His  personality  vivid,  but 
that  personality  has  a  divine  vocation  which  supplies 
the  controlling  interest  in  the  story ;  Jesus  is  the 
Christ,  the   Son  of  God.     In  this  respect  the  Chris- 


64  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

tology  of  Mark  is  not  so  distant  from  the  essential 
features  even  of  the  Gospel  of  John"  (Prof.  James 
MofTatt,  "  The  Theology  of  the  Gospels,"  p.  12). 

Origin. — This  Gospel  contains  no  statement,  in  it- 
self, of  its  origin  or  authorship.  The  author  has  hid 
himself  behind  his  work.  The  ancient  writers  and  the 
earliest  manuscripts,  however,  uniformly  ascribe  it  to 
Mark.  It  is  as  uniformly  narrated  that  the  apostle 
Peter,  who  knew  the  facts  in  regard  to  Jesus  Christ  as 
few  men  did,  is  the  chief  source.  Papias,  70-150 
A.  D.,  bishop  of  Hierapolis  for  a  number  of  years  and 
intimate  friend  of  men  who  knew  the  apostles  and 
who,  himself,  was  acquainted  with  certain  disciples  of 
the  Lord,  tells  us,  "  Mark,  having  become  the  inter- 
preter of  Peter,  wrote  accurately  whatever  he  remem- 
bered, not,  however,  recording  in  order  the  things  that 
were  said  and  done  by  the  Christ.  For  neither  did 
he  hear  the  Lord,  nor  did  he  follow  Him ;  but  after- 
wards, as  I  said,  (he  followed)  Peter,  who  adapted  his 
teaching  to  the  need  of  the  occasion,  but  not  as  if  he 
were  making  a  systematic  arrangement  of  the  words 
of  the  Lord.  So  that  Mark  did  not  err  at  all  in  writ- 
ing some  things  as  he  remembered  them.  For  he  was 
careful  for  one  thing,  not  to  pass  over  any  of  the  things 
that  he  had  heard  or  to  state  anything  falsely  in  them  " 
(Eusebius,  H.  E.,  Vol.  Ill,  39,  quoted  from  Papias). 
"  So  greatly,  however,  did  the  light  of  piety  enlighten 
the  minds  of  Peter's  hearers  that  it  was  not  sufficient 
to  hear  but  once,  or  to  receive  the  unwritten  teaching 
of  the  divine  preaching,  but  with  all  manner  of  en- 


The  Object  of  Mark  65 

treaties  they  importuned  Mark,  whose  Gospel  we  have, 
and  who  was  a  follower  of  Peter,  that  he  should  leave 
them  in  writing  a  memorial  of  the  teaching  that  had 
been  orally  communicated  to  them.  Nor  did  they 
cease  their  solicitations  until  they  had  prevailed  with 
the  man,  and  thus  became  the  cause  of  that  writing 
which  is  called  the  Gospel  according  to  Mark.  They 
say  also  that  the  apostle  (Peter)  .  .  .  authorized 
the  work  for  use  by  the  churches."  This  is  stated  by 
Clement  in  the  sixth  book  of  his  Institutions  and  is 
corroborated  by  Papias  (Eusebius,  H.  E.,  II,  15). 

Relation  of  This  Gospel  to  Peter,  an  apostle  of  the 
Lord  and  an  eye-  and  ear-witness  of  His  deeds  and 
words.  "  A  constant  tradition  of  the  early  Church, 
reaching  back  to  the  confines  of  the  apostolic  age  and 
harmonizing  with  the  notices  of  the  New  Testament, 
certifies  us  that  Mark  was  a  companion  of  Peter  (t.  e.t 
in  his  missionary  labors)  ;  was  with  him  towards  the 
end  of  his  life  and  wrote  the  Gospel  to  preserve  his 
Master's  teaching." 

The  time  of  Mark's  close  association  with  Peter  was 
probably  in  the  ten  or  twelve  years  which  elapsed  be- 
tween the  last  mention  of  Mark  in  the  Acts  and  Paul's 
reference  to  his  cooperation  in  Rome.  It  was  during 
this  period,  or  the  latter  part  of  it,  that  this  Gospel 
was  put  into  shape  by  Mark  on  the  basis  of  notes  oi 
Peter's  discourses,  and  giving  a  faithful  record  of  thfc 
Apostle's  remembrances  of  the  words  and  deeds  of  tht 
Lord. 

Personal  knowledge. — The  general  character  of  this 


66  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

Gospel  indicates  first  hand  knowledge  and  such  first 
hand  knowledge  as  Peter  would  have.  It  is  lifelike, 
definite  and  assured  in  its  statements.  It  points  to  an 
eye-witness  as  directly  or  indirectly  its  author.  "  It 
alone  tells  us  that '  Simon  and  they  that  were  with 
him  followed  after'  Jesus  when  He  withdrew  to  a  sol- 
itary place  at  the  beginning  of  His  ministry  (i  :  36)  ; 
that  it  was  Peter  who  called  the  Lord's  attention  to 
the  withered  fig  tree  (11  :  21);  that  it  was  he  also, 
with  his  brother  and  the  sons  of  Zebedee,  who  asked 
Him  on  the  Mount  of  Olives  about  the  destruction  of 
the  temple  (13  :  3).  Many  of  the  things  which  it  re- 
ports are  those  immediately  concerning  Peter,  and 
such  as  would  be  personally  known  to  him.  Things 
in  which  Peter  had  a  personal  interest  mark  important 
stages  in  Christ's  ministry,  e.g.y  his  call,  his  confession, 
the  message  sent  to  him  by  the  Risen  Lord.  Narra- 
tives like  those  of  the  raising  of  the  daughter  of  Jairus, 
the  Transfiguration,  and  the  Agony,  have  details  and 
peculiarities,  as  given  by  Mark,  which  suggest  a  more 
intimate  knowledge  of  the  circumstances,  and  such  a 
knowledge  as  Peter,  an  actor  in  all  these  scenes,  might 
nave  had." 

The  style  of  this  Gospel  remarkably  resembles  that 
of  Peter's  discourses  in  the  Acts  and  Epistles  (Acts 
10 :  36-40)- 

The  call  of  Peter  was  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the 
Gentiles — to  whom  this  Gospel  is  addressed.  Speak- 
ing to  the  First  Council  of  Churches,  in  Jerusalem,  he 
says  :  "  Men  and  brethren,  ye  know  how  that  a  good 


The  Object  of  Mark  67 

while  ago  God  made  choice  among  us,  that  the  Gen- 
tiles by  my  mouth  should  hear  the  word  of  the  Gospel 
and  believe  "  (15  :  7).  In  this  he  referred  back  to  his 
experience  given  in  Acts  10;  see  verses  34,  35,  38 
and  45. 

The  Writer. — Mark  is  first  mentioned  in  the  New 
Testament  in  Acts  12 :  12,  where  he  comes  before  us 
in  connection  with  Peter's  deliverance  from  prison. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  certain  Mary  who  lived  in  Jeru- 
salem. She  seems  to  have  been  a  person  of  means. 
Her  house  was  a  rallying  point  for  the  Christians  in 
those  dangerous  early  days.  Mark  went  with  his 
cousin  (Col.  4 :  10)  Barnabas  and  Paul  on  the  first  mis- 
sionary journey  but,  for  some  reason,  turned  back  at 
Perga  (Acts  12  :  25  ;  13  :  13).  Paul  would  not  accept 
Mark  on  the  second  missionary  journey  and  this 
caused  a  disagreement  between  him  and  Barnabas 
(Acts  15:36-40).  Paul  and  Mark  were  afterwards 
reconciled,  for  we  find  him  with  Paul  in  his  first  im- 
prisonment in  Rome  (Col.  4  :  10 ;  Phile.  24).  Some 
time  later  he  was  with  Peter  in  Babylon  (Rome?) 
(1  Peter  5:13).  Ancient  writers,  with  one  consent, 
make  Mark  the  interpreter  of  Peter.  On  his  return  to 
Asia  Minor  he  seems  to  have  been  with  Timothy  at 
Ephesus,  for  Paul,  during  his  second  imprisonment  at 
Rome,  wrote  to  Timothy  to  come  to  him  and  to  bring 
Mark  with  him  (2  Tim.  4 :  11).  In  the  Gospel  of 
Mark  some  think  the  writer  has  mentioned  himself  in 
the  "  man  bearing  a  pitcher  of  water  "  in  preparation 
for  the  passover  (14 :  13)  and  with  the  young  man  who 


68  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

followed  Jesus  on  the  night  of  the  betrayal  "  having  a 
linen  cloth  cast  about  him,  over  his  naked  body  "  (14: 
51,  52).  Outside  the  New  Testament  he  is  described 
as  an  evangelist,  as  Peter's  companion  in  Rome,  as 
sent  by  Peter  on  a  mission  into  Egypt  and  as  the 
founder  of  the  church  in  Alexandria. 

His  close  association  with  the  leaders  in  the  early 
Church  gave  him  exceptional  opportunities  to  know 
the  exact  truth  about  Jesus  Christ  His  extensive 
travels,  and  experiences  with  all  sorts  and  conditions 
of  men,  enabled  him  to  test  the  truth  and  to  see  the 
splendid  results  which  came  through  its  acceptance. 

The  Readers. — For  whom  was  this  Gospel  written? 
Evidently  not  for  the  Jews  but  for  the  Gentiles.  Ex- 
planations of  Hebrew  and  Aramaic  names  are  given — 
"  Boanerges  "  (3  :  17) ;  "  Talitha  cumi  "  (5  :  41)  ;  "  Cor- 
ban"  (7:11);  "Eloi,  Eloi,  lama,  sabachthani  "  (15  : 
34 ;  etc.).  Money  is  reduced  to  Roman  currency  (12  : 
42).  So  too  Jewish  customs,  such  as  seasons,  wash- 
ings, localities  and  the  like  are  explained;  also  the 
position  of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  the  "  Preparation  "  or 
the  day  before  the  Sabbath,  etc.  (7:3,4;  13:3; 
15  :  42).  These  explanations  for  Jewish  readers  would 
have  been  without  any  significance.  The  Old  Testa- 
ment has  here  a  much  smaller  place  than  in  the  other 
evangelists.  Matthew  seems  so  impregnated  with  the 
Old  Testament  that  it  has  almost  a  Hebraic  aspect ; 
while  Mark  has  only  twenty-three  quotations  of  one 
kind  and  another  and  these  belong  almost  entirely  to 
our  Lords  sayings. 


The  Object  of  Mark  69 

This  Gospel  found  and  met  the  need  of  the  Gentile 
Romans  on  their  own  level,  and  sought  to  raise  it  to 
a  higher  one.  The  key  to  the  character  of  the 
Romans  was  power  but  it  was  the  power  of  the  state 
and  limited  to  this  world.  It  was  force  manifesting 
itself  in  action  and  mighty  deeds.  The  Romans  were 
great  conquerors,  imposing  their  will  upon  subject 
nations.  In  time  the  Roman  state  was  deified  as  the 
greatest  manifestation  of  power  and  then  the  Caesar 
who  ruled  over  all.  Scripture  and  prophecy,  so 
potent  with  the  Jew,  would  count  but  little  with  the 
Roman.  Reason  and  philosophy,  so  dear  to  the  heart 
of  the  Greek,  would  often  be  openly  scoffed.  But 
both  Jew  and  Roman  believed  in  the  supremacy  of 
law;  with  the  former  it  was  the  law  of  the  unseen 
God,  with  the  latter  the  law  of  the  empire.  Both 
started  with  the  idea  of  duty ;  with  the  former  it  was 
allegiance  to  the  theocracy,  with  the  latter  to  the 
state.  Mark  found  the  material  level  of  the  Roman 
and  sought  to  raise  it  to  the  higher  spiritual  one. 
Christ  is  presented  as  The  Mighty  Worker  whose  will 
was  law.  He  is  the  Master  not  only  of  the  seen  but 
of  the  unseen  universe.  He  has,  and  exercises,  su- 
preme power  over  nature,  men,  disease  and  death.  He 
speaks  and  the  storm  is  stilled ;  a  few  loaves  and  fishes 
in  His  hand  increase,  at  once,  to  feed  thousands.  He 
speaks  and  the  leper  is  cleansed,  the  blind  receive  their 
sight  and  the  dead  are  raised.  He  has  power  to  lay 
down  His  life  and  power  to  take  it  again.  His  king- 
dom is  declared  to  be  omnipotent.     It  is  a  spiritual 


7<d  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

and  unseen  kingdom,  more  powerful  than  any  earthly 
state,  and  destined  to  last  forever. 

Here,  thus  early,  was  presented  the  invitation  and 
challenge  of  Christianity.  The  issue  was  clearly  pre- 
sented. The  acceptance  of  the  invitation  for  alle- 
giance to  the  higher  spiritual  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ 
brought  thousands  into  the  fold  of  the  early  Church. 
The  acceptance  of  the  challenge  of  the  supremacy  of 
the  authority  of  the  Christ,  by  the  Roman  Empire, 
brought  about  the  bloody  persecutions  which  created 
such  havoc  in  the  ranks  of  the  first  Christians. 

Characteristics. — Each  Gospel  makes  a  special 
contribution  to  the  story  of  the  Saviour  of  Israel  and 
of  the  world.  Mark  is  "  a  succession  of  pictures  in 
which  a  painter  represents  a  complete  history." 

Brevity. — It  is  the  shortest  Gospel  with  its  number 
of  chapters  at  sixteen,  while  Matthew  has  twenty- 
eight,  Luke  twenty-four  and  John  twenty-one. 

Directness. — Here  is  no  attempt  at  elaboration. 
We  have  a  plain  direct  businesslike  narrative  of  things 
as  Mark  saw  them  himself  or  heard  them  from  Peter 
or  others.  It  is  a  record  of  facts  and  not  a  product  of 
art  or  a  work  of  reflection.  It  is  the  story  of  a  man 
who  wastes  no  words  in  the  telling  of  it. 

Compactness. — Every  sentence  is  fraught  with 
meaning.  On  this  account  the  transitions  often  seem 
abrupt.  Yet  the  words  are  full  of  charm  and  color  as 
they  depict  the  wonder-working  life  of  Jesus  Christ. 
The  movement  of  events  is  energetic  and  active. 
Jesus  calls  men  and  they  "  straightway  "  follow  Him. 


The  Object  of  Mark  71 

He  teaches  and  heals  and  "  immediately "  His  fame 
spreads  throughout  all  Galilee  (1  :  28).  In  the  first 
chapter,  typical  of  the  rest,  we  find  condensed  the 
ministry  of  John  the  Baptist,  the  temptation,  and  the 
beginning  of  the  ministry  in  Galilee. 

Vividness  and  Realism. — "  There  is  a  sharpness  and 
color  in  the  descriptions  of  this  Gospel  which  might 
challenge  comparison  with  the  best  achievements  of 
the  art  which  conceals  art.  The  peculiarly  graphic, 
lifelike  quality  of  its  narrative  at  once  arrests  attention. 
It  makes  us  see  things  as  if  they  were  beneath  our  own 
eye  in  all  their  sharpness.  Thus  it  is  that  it  chooses 
so  often  the  direct  form  of  speech — <  Peace  be  still ' 
(4  :  39)  ;  '  Come  forth,  thou  unclean  spirit,  out  of  the 
man  '(5:8);  '  Send  us  into  the  swine  '  (5  :  12)  ;  *  Come 
ye  yourselves  apart'  (6:  31);  *  Thou  dumb  and  deaf 
spirit,  I  command  thee,  come  out  of  him,  and  enter  no 
more  into  him  '  (9 :  25).  Things  are  given  as  if  the 
eye  of  the  writer  were  upon  the  objects  and  his  pen 
followed  his  eye.  It  is  a  reproduction  rather  than  a 
representation." 

Circumstantiality. — Mark  is  rich  in  details  which 
impart  a  certainty  and  distinctiveness  to  the  narrative. 
The  scenery  is  painted  with  a  thousand  touches — "  the 
house,  the  sea,  the  followers,  the  growing  throng,  the 
names  of  persons,  the  numbers  of  the  men  and  of  the 
animals  and  the  pieces  of  money,  the  greenness  of 
the  grass  and  the  pillow  in  the  stern  of  the  boat  on 
Gennesareth." 

Action  and  Power. — The  acts  rather  than  the  words 


72  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

of  Christ  are  set  forth — especially  the  deeds  which 
show  His  power.  The  greater  discourses,  with  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  are  omitted.  The  report  of 
the  parables  is  meagre — only  four  are  recorded  (4 :  3- 
8 ;  4  :  26-29  ;  4  :  30-32  ;  12  :  1-1 1),  with  three  of  the 
minor  or  germ  parables  (2:21  and  22;  3:24-26). 
Considerable  space  is  given  to  dialogue  and  not  a  few 
of  our  Lord's  briefer  sayings  are  recorded,  yet  these 
seem  to  be  introduced  because  of  their  connection 
with  events  and  acts  of  power — the  one  great  excep- 
tion is  the  Eschatological  Discourse  in  the  thirteenth 
chapter.  Jesus  is  represented  as  having  superhuman 
power.  He  had  the  gift  of  miracle.  This  Gospel 
shows  how  He  frequently  exercised  that  gift  and  what 
impression  He  produced  by  it  upon  the  people  and 
upon  His  disciples  (1:27;  2:12;  7:37).  It  is 
plainly  set  forth  "  How  the  multitudes  recognized  it, 
and  believed  in  it,  and  were  eager  to  avail  themselves 
of  it,  by  bringing  their  sick  and  distressed  ones  to 
Him,  not  doubting  that  He  was  able  to  relieve  and 
heal;  how  they  were  so  certain  indeed  of  this  that 
they  thought  it  enough  if  they  could  but  get  Him  to 
notice  them,  or  could  even  touch  His  garments  (1 :  32 ; 
3:  10;  5  :  28 ;  6:  56)."  Large  space  is  given  to  re- 
cording eighteen  special  acts  of  power-miracles  :  The 
healing  of  the  demoniac  in  the  synagogue  (1  :  23-28); 
Peter's  wife's  mother  (1  :  30-31)  ;  the  leper  (1  :  40-45)  ; 
the  paralytic  (2:3-12);  the  man  with  the  withered 
hand  (3:  1-5) ;  the  stilling  of  the  storm  (4:35-41); 
the  Gadarene  demoniac  (5  :  1-17)  ;   the  woman  with 


The  Object  of  Mark  73 

the  issue  of  blood  and  the  daughter  of  Jairus  (5  :  21- 
43) ;  the  five  thousand  and  the  walking  on  the  sea 
(6  :  30-52)  ;  the  Syrophoenician  woman's  daughter  and 
the  deaf  mute  (7 :  24-37)  ;  the  four  thousand  and  the 
blind  man  at  Bethsaida  (8 :  1-9,  22-26) ;  the  lunatic 
boy  (9  :  17-29) ;  Bartimaeus  (10  :  46-52)  and  the  with- 
ering of  the  fig  tree  (11  :  12-14).  ^n  these  acts  of 
superhuman  power  the  humanity  of  Jesus  is  shown, 
for  most  of  them  come  under  the  class  of  "  The  Heal- 
ing Miracles."  He  has  taken  upon  Himself  a  nature 
identical  with  our  own,  with  all  His  power  (11  :  12; 
4:38;  14:36;  4:34;  8:2;  14:8;  4:37-40; 
lS  1  5)>  f°r  m  this  way  He  is  able  to  do  the  most 
for  us. 

Arrangement  of  Matter. — After  the  introduction 
(1  :  1— 13)  this  Gospel  falls  into  two  great  blocks  of 
narrative — "  The  one  occupied  with  the  Galilean  min- 
istry (1  :  14  to  9 :  50),  the  other  with  the  events  of  the 
last  week  in  Jerusalem  (n  :  1  to  16:  20).  There  is  a 
difference  between  the  two.  In  the  first  the  narrative, 
while  always  vivid  and  at  some  points  full,  is  often 
compressed.  In  the  second  it  is  minute,  circumstan. 
tial  and  more  of  the  nature  of  a  journal ;  this  Passion 
Week  narrative  occupies  about  one-third  of  the  whole 
Gospel."  The  intervening  story  (chapter  ten)  is  an 
account  of  the  journey  from  Galilee,  through  Perea 
and  Judea,  to  Jerusalem. 

Place  of  Writing  and  Date. — Place. — There  is 
nothing  in  this  Gospel  that  gives  the  slightest  evidence 
as  to  the  place  of  its  composition.     Ancient  tradition, 


74  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

however,  in  so  far  as  it  bears  upon  this  question,  is 
almost  wholly  on  the  side  of  Rome. 

Time. — It  is  not  easy  to  specify  the  exact  date,  as  the 
Gospel  itself  is  undated.  Some  scholars  have  con- 
tended for  a  very  early  date  and  others  for  a  very  late 
date.  The  time  has  been  placed  as  early  as  42  or  43 
A.  D.  or  between  the  years  57  and  58.  For  an  early 
date  it  is  pointed  out  that  some  of  the  colophons  of 
our  ancient  manuscripts  speak  of  the  book  as  pub- 
lished ten  or  twelve  years  after  our  Lord's  ascension. 
From  many  considerations,  from  an  examination  of 
the  text  and  ancient  testimony,  it  is  now  quite  gener- 
ally held  that  this  Gospel  came  into  its  present  form 
in  the  first  part  of  the  sixth  decade  of  the  first  century. 

Relation  to  Matthew  and  Luke. — Matthew,  Mark 
and  Luke,  known  as  the  Synoptical  Gospels,  have 
much  in  common  and  substantially  cover  the  same 
field ;  yet  cover  it  in  different  ways.  The  Gospel  of 
Mark  has  only  fifty  verses  peculiar  to  itself  and  not 
found  in  Matthew  and  Luke.  Mark  has  a  certain 
proportion  of  matter  which  appears  in  Matthew  and 
not  in  Luke,  or  in  Luke  and  not  in  Matthew ;  and  in 
narratives  which  are  common  to  the  three,  or  to  Mark 
and  one  of  the  others,  he  adds  in  not  a  few  cases  con- 
siderably to  our  knowledge  by  his  richer  detail.  Each 
Gospel  has  its  own  field  to  cover,  using  common  ma- 
terial for  its  own  specific  purpose.  But  the  sources 
from  which  these  Gospels  draw  their  material  and  the 
use  they  make  of  it  constitutes  what  is  known  as  The 
Synoptical  Problem.     For  a  most  able  discussion  of 


The  Object  of  Mark  75 

this  problem,  the  student  is  referred  to  Professor 
Peake's  "  Critical  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament," 
pp.  101  to  124. 

As  we  have  the  Synoptical  Gospels,  in  their  present 
form,  Mark  is  looked  upon  as  the  first  written. 

Value. — The  worth  of  the  writing  of  Mark,  as  the 
testimony  of  one  who  had  an  intimate  friendship  with 
Peter  and  Paul  and  a  first  hand  knowledge  of  the  tri- 
umphant progress  of  early  Christianity,  cannot  be 
overestimated. 

QUESTIONS 

What  is  the  new  view- point  set  forth  ?  Where  is  the  em- 
phasis placed  ?  What  is  the  appeal  ?  What  is  the  theology 
of  Mark  ?  What  is  the  origin  of  this  Gospel  ?  What  is  its 
relation  to  Peter?  What  was  the  time  of  Mark's  close  as- 
sociation with  Peter  ?  What  about  the  style  of  this  Gospel  ? 
To  whom  was  Peter's  call  to  preach?  What  can  be  said  of 
the  writer  of  this  Gospel  ?  For  what  readers  was  this  Gos- 
pel written?  How  did  this  Gospel  meet  the  need  of  the 
Gentile  Roman  ?  What  are  some  of  the  characteristics  of 
this  Gospel — Brevity,  Directness,  Compactness,  Vividness 
and  Realism,  Circumstantiality,  Action  and  Power?  What 
can  be  said  of  the  arrangement  of  the  matter  ?  What  is  the 
place  of  writing  and  the  date?  What  is  the  relation  to  Mat- 
thew and  Luke  ?    What  is  the  value  ? 


STUDY  V 

THE  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  CHRIST 

The  Supremacy  of  the  Authority  of  Jesus  Christ 
was  a  burning  question  with  the  first  disciples  and 
their  converts.  Was  it  before  and  above  all  else? 
That  this  supremacy  was  believed  and  taught  is 
abundantly  attested.  Its  repeated  assertion  was  what 
brought  Christianity  into  a  direct  and  bitter  conflict 
with  Judaism  and  the  Roman  Empire.  Had  Chris- 
tianity been  content  to  take  a  second  place  or  a  place 
alongside  of  other  religions — or  to  bow  to  the  power  of 
the  Roman  state — there  would  have  been  no  contro- 
versy, and  it  doubtless,  very  soon,  would  have  per- 
ished as  an  obscure  Jewish  sect. 

It  was  claimed  that  in  Jesus  Christ  all  the  demands 
of  true  religion  had  been  met  and  that  He  was  the 
center  from  which  all  its  forces  should  operate.  He 
was  the  first  true  king  of  the  true  community  of  the  true 
God  and  as  nothing  could  be  conceived  as  supplanting 
Him,  He  would  reign  forever  with  irresistible  power. 

Mark  was  not,  in  his  Gospel,  simply  jotting  down  a 
number  out  of  many  incidents  which  had  been  told  him 
about  the  Christ,  but  he  realized  that  he  was  writing 
with  a  tremendous  purpose  about  the  supreme  object 
of  faith  for  all  men.  He  had  witnessed  at  close  range, 
in  his  attendance  upon  Paul  and  Peter  in  their  mis- 

76 


The  Authority  of  the  Christ  77 

sionary  journeys,  the  difficulties  of  the  mighty  battle 
in  which  Christianity  was  engaged. 

We  are  left  in  no  doubt  as  to  whom  Mark  is  writing 
about  and  how  he  regards  Him — "  The  beginning  of 
the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God  "  (1 :  1). 
"  Jesus  " — the  personal  name.  "  Christ " — the  official 
title—"  The  Anointed  One  "— "  The  Messiah."  «  The 
Son  of  God  " — not  the  son  of  Abraham  or  the  son  of 
David  but  "  The  Son  of  God."  Thus  he  clears  the 
way  for  what  he  has  to  say  about  "  One  "  whom  he 
regards  as  all  in  all. 

"Jesus,  in  His  teaching,  rested  upon  His  own  au- 
thority as  absolute. — He  did  not  hesitate  to  place  His 
own  word  above  the  Mosaic  law  ;  He  proclaimed  His 
message  now  as  His  own,  now  as  His  Heavenly  Fa- 
ther's, with  no  distinction  ;  He  taught  His  disciples  to 
look  to  Him  as  their  only  means  of  entrance  into  the 
higher  life — a  colossal  assumption  surely,  if  He  were 
but  a  man ;  a  clear  statement  and  a  challenge  to  all 
ages,  sublime  in  its  boldness,  but  justified  by  the  di- 
vine greatness  of  His  character,  the  matchless  sub- 
limity of  His  teaching,  and  proved  to  succeeding  gen- 
erations by  the  historic  success  of  His  work  "  (Dr. 
Jeremiah  W.  Jenks,  Professor  of  Political  Economy  in 
Cornell  University,  "  Political  and  Social  Significance 
of  the  Life  and  Teachings  of  Jesus,"  p.  39). 

In  What  Does  Christ's  Authority  Consist  ? — How 
is  it  shown  ?  These  questions  are  answered  in  many 
ways  in  the  Gospel  of  Mark.  Yet  it  is  not  Mark  who 
is  answering  them  so  much  as  it  is  his  plain  reporting 


78  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

of  what  Christ  said  and  did.  The  answers  are  shown 
to  lie  on  the  surface  of  the  narrative.  Notice  how 
chapter  after  chapter  (1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  etc.)  bears  its 
testimony  to  the  power  of  the  Christ. 

"  He  taught  them  as  one  that  had  authority  and  not 
as  the  scribes  "  (1  :  22).  The  answers  to  the  questions 
in  regard  to  the  relation  of  God  to  man,  of  man  to 
God,  of  man  to  man  have  never  been  surpassed.  He 
also  ordained  others  to  teach  and  to  heal  (3  :  13-15). 

"  With  authority  commandeth  He  even  the  unclean 
spirits,  and  they  do  obey  Him  "  (1 :  27).  The  great 
problem  to-day  is,  as  of  old,  to  clean  out  the  un- 
clean spirits  who  degrade  the  individual  and  foul  the 
social  life.  It  is  only  the  uplifted  Christ  who  can 
conquer  them,  as  of  old,  and  make  life  worth  living. 

Power  to  cure  the  sick  (1  :  30,  31  and  34). — The  heal- 
ing touch  is  a  great  blessing.  Physicians  possess  it  in 
different  degrees.     In  Christ  it  was  at  its  fullness. 

Authority  to  forgive  sins. — Christ  did  not  leave  this 
point  in  doubt,  for  He  said :  "  That  ye  may  know  that 
the  Son  of  man  hath  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins." 
Notice  the  positiveness  of  this  statement  (2  :  5-10). 

The  extent  (  3  :  22-27)  an&  growth  (4 :  30-32)  of 
Christ's  authority  are  shown  by  what  He  says  in  re- 
gard to  His  kingdom  and  that  of  Beelzebub  and  the 
parable  of  the  mustard  seed. 

He  had  control  over  nature  (4 :  36-40). — At  His 
word  a  great  storm  was  stilled  on  lake  Galilee.  He 
multiplied  loaves  and  fishes  to  feed  a  multitude.  We 
are  learning   much   in  these  days  about  the  control 


The  Authority  of  the  Christ  79 

over  nature.  The  president  of  the  United  States 
touches  a  button  and,  at  once,  an  electric  impulse 
starts  over  a  wire  on  its  journey  of  three  thousand 
miles  across  a  continent  and  the  wheels  of  the  ponder- 
ous machinery  of  an  international  exposition  begin  to 
revolve.  But  why  use  a  wire  ?  We  take  away  the 
wire  and  we  send  by  "  wireless,"  still  using  the  button. 
But  why  use  a  button  ?  As  means  have  been  found  to 
do  away  with  the  wire,  may  not  means  be  found  to  do 
away  with  the  button  and  a  man  may  stand  and  by  an 
impulse  of  his  will  do  that  which  has  hitherto  been 
done  by  a  wire,  a  button  and  an  electric  current  ? 
What  we  to-day  call  "  a  miracle  is  not  really  a  breach 
of  the  order  of  nature ;  it  is  only  an  apparent  breach 
of  laws  that  we  know,  in  obedience  to  other  and  higher 
laws  that  we  do  not  know."  St.  Augustine  (•'  De 
Civitate  Dei,"  I,  8)  said  in  the  early  centuries,  "  We 
say  that  all  miracles  (or  prodigies,  portenta)  are  con- 
trary to  nature  ;  but  they  are  not.  For  how  can  that 
be  contrary  to  nature  which  takes  place  by  the  will  of 
God,  seeing  that  the  will  of  the  great  Creator  is  the 
true  nature  of  everything  created  ?  So  miracle  is  not 
contrary  to  nature,  but  only  to  what  we  know  of 
nature  (contra  quam  est  nota  natura)."  Herbert 
Spencer  once  said  to  Professor  John  Fiske  of  Harvard 
University,  "  You  cannot  take  up  any  problem  in 
physics  without  being  quickly  led  to  some  metaphys- 
ical problem  which  you  can  neither  solve  nor  evade  " 
(Prof.  John  Fiske,  "  Life  Everlasting,"  p.  50). 

He  had  power  to  raise  the  dead  (5  :  22-24,  35-42). 


80  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

He  calls  back  to  life  the  daughter  of  Jairus.  There  is 
no  argument  for  this  power;  it  is  exercised  as  the  most 
natural  thing  in  the  world. 

The  people  marvel  at  His  mighty  works  (6 :  1-6, 
14,  56). 

Peter  s  testimo?iy  to  the  Christ  (8  :  27-29). 

The  attestatioti  of  His  authority  in  the  event  of  the 
transfiguration  (9 :  1-7).  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son : 
hear  Him  "  (9  :  7). 

Christ  has  authority  over  the  future  (9  :  38-50)  ;  His 
authority  is  exalted  (11  :  9,  10) ;  The  delegation  of  His 
authority  (13  :  34-37)  ;  An  attempt  is  made  to  break 
the  power  of  the  Christ  (14:  10  to  15  147);  Jesus  de- 
clares that  He  is  the  Christ  and  that  He  will  come 
again  in  great  power  (14  ;  61,  62) ;  The  victory  for  the 
Christ  (chapter  16). 

The  use  of  Christ's  power  was  always  to  help,  to 
benefit  and  to  heal.  It  was  never  exercised  on  His 
own  behalf.  It  was,  and  is,  for  the  uplift  of  the  indi- 
vidual, society  and  the  state.  *'  The  Christian  religion 
has  proved  itself  of  practical  authority  in  politics,  and 
statesmen  are  realizing,  as  never  before,  that  Christ 
cannot  be  left  out  as  a  factor  in  public  affairs." 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  GOSPEL  OF  MARK 
The    Gospel    of  Mark  falls   naturally   itito  four 
divisions  : 

The   beginning   of    the   ministry    of    Jesus    Christ 

(i:i-I3). 

The  ministry  in  Galilee  (1  :  14-9  :  50). 


The  Authority  of  the  Christ  81 

The  ministry  in  Judea  (10 :  1-5  2). 

The  ministry  in  Jerusalem  (n  :  1-16 :  20). 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  MINISTRY 
(1:1-13) 
This  introduction,  consisting  of  only  thirteen  verses, 
is  short  but  very  much  to  the  point.  Every  sentence 
is  packed  with  meaning.  It  is  "  Good  News  " — Gospel 
— about  Jesus  Christ,  "  The  Son  of  God."  Mark  has 
no  time  or  space  for  circumlocution.  He  states  in  the 
fewest  possible  words,  yet  every  word  a  word  painting 
of  wondrous  beauty,  that  the  "  Son  of  God  "  has  come 
in  accordance  with  ancient  prophecy.  His  forerunner 
has  proclaimed  Him  as  "  One  mightier  than  I,"  al- 
though all  the  land  has  been  startled  and  stirred  by 
John  the  Baptist's  preaching.  The  Christ  will  baptize 
with  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  Christ  is  authenticated — we 
are  not  left  to  conjecture  as  to  His  place  and  power — 
at  His  baptism  by  a  voice  from  heaven  saying, "  Thou 
art  my  beloved  Son  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased." 
Here  are  two  statements  in  thirteen  verses  in  regard 
to  Christ  as  the  M  Son  of  God,"  the  supreme  topic  of 
this  Gospel.  He  is  not  represented  as  one  who  slowly 
gathers  a  consciousness  of  His  place  but  one  to  whom 
His  proper  place  is  assured  from  the  beginning. 

THE  MINISTRY  IN  GALILEE 
(1:14-9:50) 
This  is  divided  into  two  parts — The  Eastern  (1 :  14 
to  7  :  23)  and  The  Northern  (7 :  24-9 :  50). 


82  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

The  Eastern  Galilean  Ministry  (i  :  14-7  :  23).— 
Galilee,  the  scene  of  this  ministry,  was  the  most 
northerly  of  the  four  provinces  of  Palestine.  It  was 
very  fertile  and  very  populous.  "  The  great  highways 
from  Egypt  to  Damascus  and  from  Phoenicia  to  the  Eu- 
phrates passed  here  and  made  it  a  vast  hive  of  traffic. 
Besides  the  larger  cities  of  Capernaum — the  head- 
quarters of  Christ — Bethsaida  and  Chorazin,  the  shore 
of  the  lake  of  Galilee  was  studded  with  towns  and 
villages,  and  formed  a  perfect  beehive  of  swarming 
human  life.  The  territory  about  the  lake  bore 
abundant  crops  and  fruits  of  every  description  and 
the  waters  teemed  with  fish,  affording  employment  to 
thousands  of  fishermen.  Many  boats  for  fishing,  trans- 
port and  pleasure  moved  to  and  fro  on  the  surface  of 
the  lake,  so  that  the  whole  region  was  a  focus  of 
energy  and  prosperity."  What  was  done  in  this  sec- 
tion was  known  very  quickly  throughout  Palestine  and 
in  the  Eastern  as  well  as  the  Western  World ;  the  cara- 
vans were  the  great  news  carriers.  The  place  for  the 
dissemination  of  the  "  Good  News  "  of  the  Messiah  was 
well  chosen. 

The  story  of  Christ's  work  in  Eastern  Galilee  is  told 
in  three  parts. 

1.  From  the  first  announcement  of  the  ki?igdom  and 
the  call  of  the  first  disciples  to  the  beginning  of  the 
conflict  with  the  official  classes  (1 :  14-3:  12).  Jesus 
begins  preaching  in  Galilee.  He  calls  four  fishermen. 
He  spends  a  Sabbath  in  Capernaum.  He  preaches  in 
synagogues   throughout  all  Galilee  (1  :  14-45).     The 


The  Authority  of  the  Christ  83 

reading  of  this  first  chapter  shows  how  intense  His 
activity  was.  He  speaks  and  teaches  and  heals  with 
authority.  Multitudes  throng  Him.  His  fame  spreads 
throughout  all  the  region.  **  We  see  here  the  author's 
conviction,  as  announced  in  the  first  line  of  his  book, 
that  Jesus  was  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  and  that 
Jesus  believing,  from  the  beginning,  in  His  own 
Messiahship  and  Divine  Sonship,  convinced  His  fol- 
lowers of  it,  not  by  affirmation  or  by  argument  but  by 
living ;  so  the  evangelist,  holding  at  the  outset  to  the 
Messiahship  of  Jesus,  depends  not  on  formulated 
argument,  but  on  the  story  of  the  life  to  carry  this 
conviction  to  the  readers  "  (Prof.  E.  D.  Burton,  "  In- 
troduction to  the  Gospels,"  p.  40). 

2.  From  the  call  of  the  twelve  apostles  to  the 
rejection  at  Nazareth  (3 :  1 3-6 :  6).  In  choosing  "  The 
Twelve  "  Jesus  will  leave  nothing  to  chance.  He  has 
a  plan  and  will  have  them  know  of  this  plan  that, 
being  rightly  instructed,  they  may  instruct  others. 
When  He  is  teaching  the  multitude  which  throng 
Him  (3 :  20)  they  must  take  account  of  what  His 
kingdom  is  (3 :  22-35),  how  it  differs  from  that  of 
Beelzebub  and  what  it  means  to  be  a  citizen  of  that 
kingdom.  He  teaches  by  the  seaside  and  shows  by 
parables  the  principles  and  the  growth  of  this  kingdom 
(4  :  1-34).  The  teaching  about  the  kingdom  is  followed 
by  some  wonderful  manifestations  of  power  (4:  35-5  143), 
the  stilling  of  a  great  storm  on  lake  Galilee,  delivering 
of  one  possessed  of  a  legion  of  devils,  healing  a  woman 
with  a  bloody  issue  and  the  raising  from  the  dead  the 


84  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

daughter  of  Jairus.  Bitter  opposition  is  encountered 
by  Jesus  when  He  goes  back  to  His  home  town.  It 
was  acknowledged  that  many  mighty  works  were 
wrought  by  Him,  but  the  people,  unable  to  recon- 
cile His  origin  with  His  claims,  rejected  His  claims 
(6:i-6). 

j.  From  the  sending  out  of  "The  Twelve"  on 
a  mission  to  the  withdrawal  of  Jesus  to  the  borders 
of  Tyre  and  Sidon  (6:7-7:23).  The  unfolding  of 
the  plan  of  Jesus  is  seen  as  He  instructs  His  disciples 
as  to  what  their  message  shall  be  and  how  it  should  be 
delivered  (6  :  7-13).  The  incident  of  King  Herod  and 
his  opinion  of  Jesus  (6 :  14-29). 

The  return  of  "  The  Twelve  "  who  tell  Jesus  what 
they  had  done  and  taught  (6 :  30). 

Jesus  continues  His  former  work  in  Galilee  with  the 
reappearance  of  the  same  features  of  teaching  and 
healing  and  the  thronging  multitudes,  with  the  works 
of  power  of  feeding  five  thousand  and  the  walking  on 
the  water  (6:31-56).  Jesus  encounters  new  opposi- 
tion in  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  who  come  from 
Jerusalem.  They  are  shown  the  difference  between  a 
religion  that  is  of  the  heart  and  that  which  is  of  a 
worthless  tradition,  which  does  not  decrease  their  op- 
position (7 :  1-23). 

The  Northern  Galilean  Ministry  (7  :  24-9 :  50). 

This  story  is  told  in  two  parts. 

I.  First  withdrawal  from  Galilee  into  the  borders 
of  Tyre  and  Sidon  and  the  return  (7 :  24-8  :  26). 
Here  occurs  the  incident  of  the  casting  out  of  an  un- 


The  Authority  of  the  Christ  85 

clean  spirit  from  the  daughter  of  a  Syrophcenician 
woman  (7  :  24-30).  The  return  to  Galilee.  The  deaf 
man  healed.  The  four  thousand  fed.  A  blind  man 
of  Bethsaida  receives  his  sight  (7 :  31-8  :  26). 

2.  A  second  withdrawal  from  Galilee  "  into  the 
towns  of  Csesarea  Philippi "  and  the  return  (8 :  27- 
9 :  50).  On  the  way  to  Caesarea  Philippi  Jesus  ac- 
knowledges that  He  is  the  Christ  and  teaches  that  the 
kingdom  of  His  power  must  be  won  through  suffering 
and  death  (8  :  27-38).  Jesus  is  transfigured  and  ac- 
knowledged as  the  beloved  Son  of  the  Father.  On 
coming  down  from  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration 
Jesus  heals  a  demoniac  boy  (9  :  1-29).  Jesus  returns 
to  and  passes  through  Galilee  (9  :  30-50).  He  again 
predicts  His  death  and  resurrection  (9 :  30-32).  He 
teaches  what  true  greatness  is  in  His  kingdom,  also 
true  humility  and  self-denial  (9  :  33-50). 


THE  MINISTRY  IN  JUDEA 
(10:1-51) 
This  chapter,  ten,  is  an  account  of  the  incidents  and 
teaching  of  Jesus  on  His  journey  from  Galilee  to 
Jerusalem.  The  discourse  on  divorce  (10:1-12). 
The  incident  of  the  blessing  of  little  children  and  its 
lesson  for  the  kingdom  (10 :  13-16).  The  question  of 
what  one  can  do  to  inherit  eternal  life  (10 :  17-27). 
The  question  of  gain  in  the  kingdom  (10:28-30). 
Jesus  again  predicts  His  death  and  resurrection  (10: 
32-34).     The  question  of  precedence  in  the  kingdom 


86  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

(10 :  35-45).     Jesus  restores  the  sight  of  blind  Bar- 
timaeus  of  Jericho  (10  :  46-52). 

THE  MINISTRY  IN  JERUSALEM 
(11 :  1-16:20) 

This  section  occupies  about  one-third  of  the  Gospel 
of  Mark,  which  shows  the  great  importance  attached 
to  the  narrative.  The  events  are  reported,  in  a 
journal  like  form,  as  they  took  place  from  day  to  day. 
"  Jesus  causes  Himself  to  be  announced  as  Messiah ; 
comes  into  conflict  with  the  leaders  of  the  people ; 
predicts  the  downfall  of  the  Jewish  temple  and  capital." 
He  rises  from  the  dead,  as  He  said  He  would,  and  be- 
comes the  victorious  Messiah  and  ascended  Lord. 

Passion  Week. 

Sunday. — The  Holy  City  at  last  reached,  Jesus 
makes  a  triumphal  entrance  as  its  Lord  and  Master — 
the  long  expected  Messiah  (11  : 1-11). 

Monday. — The  fig  tree,  which  bore  no  fruit,  sym- 
bolical of  the  Jewish  nation,  is  cursed  and  withers 
away.     The  temple  is  cleansed  (11  :  12-19). 

Tuesday  (11:20-13:37). — This  is  the  great  day 
of  teaching  in  the  temple.  Christ's  comment  on  the 
withered  fig  tree  and  the  good  in  faith  (1 1 :  20-26). 
Christ's  authority  is  challenged.  He  answers  the 
challenge  (11 :  27-33).  Jesus  takes  His  critics  to  task 
and  shows  them  in  the  parable  of  the  wicked  hus- 
bandman, and  in  the  questions  concerning  the  tribute 
money,  the  resurrection,  the  greatest  commandment 
and  giving,  the  true  nature  of  His  kingdom   and  its 


The  Authority  of  the  Christ  87 

requirements  (12:1-44).  The  prophetic  discourse 
concerning  the  downfall  of  the  temple  and  the  city 
(J3  •  l~37)t  after  Jesus  left  the  temple. 

Wednesday  (14:1-11). — The  Jews  plot  to  put 
Jesus  to  death.  Jesus  is  anointed  in  the  house  of 
Simon  the  leper.  Judas  makes  a  bargain  with  the 
Jewish  leaders  to  betray  Jesus  to  death. 

Thursday  (14  :  12-52). — Jesus  now  enters  the 
shadow  of  the  cross.  The  last  supper,  symbolical  of 
the  broken  body  and  shed  blood  of  Christ,  is  instituted 
(14:12-26).  Peter's  denial  is  foretold  (14:27-31). 
The  agony  in  Gethsemane  (14 :  32-42).  The  betrayal 
and  arrest  of  Jesus  (14  :  43-52). 

Friday  (14:53-15:47). — The  trial  before  the 
Jewish  authorities  in  which  Jesus,  in  prospect  of  an 
ignominious  death,  declares  that  He  is  the  Christ, 
"The  Son  of  the  Blessed"  (14:  53-65).  Peter's  de- 
nials (14  :  66-72).  The  trial  before  Pilate  (15  : 1-20). 
The  crucifixion  and  burial  (15  :  21-47). 

The  Resurrection  (16  :  1-8). — Holy  women  visited 
the  tomb  very  early  in  the  morning  of  the  Sabbath 
day  following,  to  find  that  Jesus  had  risen  from  the 
dead,  as  He  said  He  would. 

Appendix  (16:9-20).  Brief  summary  of  the  ap- 
pearances of  Jesus,  after  He  had  risen  from  the  dead. 

QUESTIONS 
What  can  be  said  of  the  supremacy  of  the  question  of  the 
authority  of  Jesus  Christ  with  the  early  disciples  ?    Are  we 
left  in  any  doubt  as  to  the  one  about  whom  Mark  was  writ- 


88  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

ing  ?  In  what  does  Christ's  authority  consist  ?  Teaching 
— forgiveness  of  sins — healing  the  sick — control  over  nature 
— raising  the  dead  ?  In  an  analysis  of  the  book  of  Mark 
into  what  divisions  does  it  naturally  fall  ?  What  can  be 
said  of  the  beginning  of  the  ministry  ?  What  can  be  said 
of  the  ministry  in  Galilee  ?  Into  what  two  parts  is  it  di- 
vided ?  Into  how  many  parts  are  these  two  divided  ? 
What  can  be  said  of  the  ministry  in  Judea  ?  What  can  be 
said  of  the  ministry  in  Jerusalem  ?  What  are  the  events  of 
the  days  ?     What  can  be  said  of  the  resurrection  ? 


STUDY  VI 

THE  PURPOSE  OF  LUKE 

The  Preface  of  the  Gospel  of  Luke. — We  have  here 
the  advantage  of  a  direct  statement,  from  the  author, 
in  regard  to  his  purpose. 

"  Forasmuch  as  many  have  taken  in  hand  to  set 
forth  in  order  a  declaration  of  those  things  which  are 
most  surely  believed  among  us,  even  as  they  delivered 
them  unto  us,  which  from  the  beginning  were  eye- 
witnesses, and  ministers  of  the  word ;  it  seemed  good 
to  me  also,  having  had  perfect  understanding  of  all 
things  from  the  very  first,  to  write  unto  thee  in  order, 
most  excellent  Theophilus,  that  thou  mightest  know 
the  certainty  of  the  things,  wherein  thou  hast  been  in- 
structed." 

Many  other  narratives  of  the  words  and  acts  of  Jesus 
Christ  were  already  in  existence. — Within  thirty  years 
after  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Jesus,  His  Gospel 
had  won  its  way  from  Jerusalem  to  Rome  and  Chris- 
tian churches  had  been  established  in  the  large  as  well 
as  the  small  cities  throughout  the  Roman  Empire. 
During  the  latter  half  of  this  period  Paul  had  written 
his  epistles,  copies  of  which  were  widely  circulated 
amongst  the  churches.  It  is  not  known  how  early 
the  written  attempts  at  Gospel  making  began :  some 

89 


90  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

scholars  place  them  quite  early.  Prof.  James  Moffatt, 
of  Oxford,  in  his  introduction  to  "  The  Literature  of 
the  New  Testament "  tells  us  that  "  by  at  least  50  A.  D. 
such  notes  and  collections  (in  regard  to  the  words  and 
works  of  Christ)  may  have  begun  to  exist  in  rough 
form.  .  .  .  By  the  time  of  Paul's  later  literary 
activity  evangelic  narratives  were  in  existence  here 
and  there.  .  .  .  The  primary  need  for  these  is  to 
be  found  in  the  fact  that  a  new  generation  was  rising, 
who  were  dependent  for  their  history  of  Jesus  upon  a 
fast  diminishing  company  of  eye-witnesses,  in  the 
rapid  extension  and  consolidation  of  the  Christian 
communities."  With  these  many  narratives,  Mark,  in 
the  Greek,  and  Matthew,  in  the  Hebrew,  at  least,  were 
well  known,  for  Luke  makes  use  of  both.  That  he 
used  other  narratives  and  oral  traditions  is  evident 
from  the  large  amount  of  new  matter,  not  found  in 
Mark  or  Luke,  which  he  incorporates  in  his  Gospel. 
All  was  attested  by  eye-witnesses  and  companions 
of  Jesus  (1  :  2). 

The  Threefold  Purpose  of  Luke. 

First — Historical.  Luke  was  a  painstaking  and 
careful  investigator  of  the  sources  of  his  information 
in  regard  to  Christ ;  he  was  not  a  personal  follower  of 
the  Lord.  "  He  professes  to  write  a  complete,  correct 
and  chronological  (in  the  sense  of  well  arranged,  or 
logical)  account  of  the  primitive  narrative  (or  inherit- 
ance) as  received  from  the  first  generation  of  disciples. 
This  attempt  was  neither  new  nor  superfluous.  Luke 
had  numerous  predecessors  in  the  enterprise,  but  their 


The  Purpose  of  Luke  91 

work  did  not  wholly  satisfy  his  purpose ;  he  resolved 
to  make  a  fresh  essay."  He  desired  to  furnish  Chris- 
tians a  more  accurate  knowledge  of  their  Lord's  life. 

Second — Religious.  The  life  of  Christ  is,  to  Luke, 
of  supreme  religious  importance.  He  sees  in  Him 
"  The  Power "  which  is  to  regenerate  the  world 
(4:  16-21,  32-41).  Here  is  his  primary  interest;  it  is 
similar  to  that  of  John  (John  20 :  31). 

Third — Personal.  Luke's  Gospel  and  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles,  its  sequel,  are  addressed  to  a  person— a 
certain  Theophilus.  In  this  it  resembles  Paul's  epistles 
to  Timothy,  Titus  and  Philemon.  Theophilus  is  a  gen- 
uine proper  name  ;  nothing  is  known  of  him  "  except 
what  may  be  inferred  from  Luke's  language,  viz.,  that 
he  was  not  simply  an  outsider  interested  in  the  faith, 
but  a  Christian  who  desired  or  required  fuller  acquaint- 
ance with  the  historic  basis  of  the  Christian  Gospel ; 
also  that  he  was  a  man  of  rank.  Luke's  emphasis 
on  the  relation  between  Christianity  and  the  Roman 
Empire,  and  his  stress  upon  the  temptations  and  hin- 
drances of  money,  would  tally  with  the  hypothesis  that 
his  friend  belonged  to  the  upper  and  official  classes," 
but  nothing  is  known  beyond  these  inferences. 

The  Author. — The  third  Gospel  was  assigned  to 
Luke  by  the  Church  of  antiquity  and  his  authorship 
has  never  been  disputed.  Irenaeus  of  Asia  Minor, 
who  had  ample  opportunity  to  sift  the  facts  and  who 
wrote  in  Gaul  in  the  second  century,  says :  "  Now  if 
any  one  reject  Luke,  as  if  he  did  not  know  the  truth, 
he  will  manifestly  be  casting  out  the  Gospel  of  which 


92  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

he  claims  to  be  a  disciple."  Irenaeus  quotes  from 
nearly  every  chapter.  The  Muratorian  canon,  prob- 
ably somewhat  earlier,  ascribes  this  Gospel  to  Luke. 
Later  on,  trustworthy  tradition,  "  as  preserved  by 
Eusebius  and  Jerome,  has  it  that  Luke  was  a  native 
of  Antioch  in  Syria,  or  at  least  had  his  usual  residence 
there,  and  that  he  was  a  proselyte  or  follower  of  Paul." 

To  Luke  was  also  assigned  the  authorship  of  The  Acts 
of  the  Apostles,  the  continuation  of  the  Gospel  of  Luke. 
They  are  both  addressed  to  Theophilus  (Luke  1:3; 
Acts  1 :  1)  and  the  style  is  the  same. 

Three  things  may  be  said  of  Luke,  which  made  him 
a  proper  instrument  for  the  important  work  which  he 
did. 

First — He  was  a  converted  Gentile  Greek.  Thor- 
oughly acquainted  with  Greek  ideals,  he  knew  how  to 
adapt  the  Gospel  of  Christ  in  order  to  win  the  Greek. 

Second — He  was  a  physician.  Paul  calls  him  (Col. 
4:14)"  Luke,  the  beloved  physician."  It  has  been 
thought  that  Luke  accompanied  Paul  from  Troas  to 
Philippi  (Acts  16:  11,  12)  on  the  occasion  of  their  first 
meeting,  to  minister  to  Paul  in  a  malady  from  which 
he  was  suffering  (2  Cor.  12:7).  "  There  is  a  remark- 
able work  by  Dr.  Hobart  on  '  The  Medical  Language 
of  St.  Luke,'  in  which  the  author  makes  a  minute 
comparison  of  the  words  used  in  the  third  Gospel  and 
The  Acts  with  words  employed  by  Galen,  Hippo- 
crates, and  other  medical  writers  of  antiquity;  the 
result  is  that  many  of  our  evangelist's  favorite  words, 
and  many  of  the  words  used  by  him  exclusively  among 


The  Purpose  of  Luke  93 

New  Testament  writers,  are  found  to  be  characteristic 
of  those  authors.  ...  It  will  be  seen,  too,  that  in 
several  instances  where  Luke  is  giving  an  account  of  a 
miracle  of  healing,  he  enters  into  details  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  sufferer  more  fully  than  the  other  evan- 
gelists." All  of  which  goes  to  show  that  Luke  was  a 
painstaking  and  accurate  observer  and  that  he  care- 
fully made  sure  of  his  facts  before  recording  them. 

Third — He  was  a  travelling  companion  of  Paul  and 
was  with  him  in  the  city  of  Rome.  He  had  ample  and 
abundant  opportunity  to  meet  those  who  had  seen 
Christ  in  the  flesh  and  had  been  with  Him.  He  also, 
journeying  with  Paul,  saw  the  marvellous  results  of  the 
preaching  of  the  Christ  in  heathen  communities.  Paul 
mentions  him  three  times  by  name  in  his  epistles  (Phile. 
24;  Col.  4:  14;  2  Tim.  4:  11).  The  steadfast  and 
courageous  character  of  Luke  is  incidentally  brought 
out  in  the  fact  that,  in  Paul's  second  imprisonment,  a 
time  of  great  danger  and  sorrow,  Luke  only  dared 
stand  by  him  (2  Tim.  4 :  7-1 1).  The  painstaking  care 
of  Luke  is  shown  in  his  writing  of  the  Acts  :  when  he 
is  not  with  the  company,  he  uses  the  personal  plural 
pronoun  "  They  "  ;  when  he  is  with  the  company  he 
uses  "  We  "  or  "  Us  "  ;  the  latter  are  known  as  the 
"  We-sections  "  (Acts  16 :  10-40 ;  20  :  6-21  :  18 ;  27 :  1- 
28:  16  or  31). 

Arrangement  of  Material. — In  the  preface  to  the 
third  Gospel,  Luke  states  that,  "  It  seemed  good  to  me 
also,  having  had  perfect  understanding  of  all  things 
from  the  very  first,  to  write  unto  thee  in  order,  most 


94  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

excellent  Theophilus."  The  setting  down  of  things 
"  In  order  "  and  "  Accurately  "  was  the  special  care  of 
Luke. 

There  is  a  chronological  order. — Certain  dates  are 
given  and  these  follow  in  succession  of  time.  "  Luke 
alone,  among  the  evangelists,  sets  his  Gospel  in  rela- 
tion to  contemporary  great  world  movements.  He 
fixes  his  dates  with  reference  to  the  Jewish  kings,  the 
reigning  Caesars,  and  provincial  Roman  governors 
(i  :  5  ;  2  :  I  ;  3  :  i).  The  author's  desire  is  to  be  ac- 
curate and  definite  in  the  historical  relations  of  the 
narrative.  Another  reason  is  that,  at  the  time  this 
Gospel  was  written,  there  was  no  universal  accepted 
numerical  calendar,  some  people  using  the  Greek 
Olympiads,  some  the  names  of  Roman  consuls,  some 
the  reigns  of  the  emperors.  Again  Luke,  in  this  way, 
desires  to  emphasize  the  world-wide  character  of 
Christianity.  He  is  somewhat  a  man  of  the  world  and 
he  likes  to  think  of  the  Gospel  as  a  factor  in  the  life  of 
the  world.  A  Gentile  himself,  dedicating  his  book  to 
a  Gentile  of  rank  in  the  Roman  world,  he  is  the  last 
man  to  take  a  sectarian  and  exclusive  view  of  a  move- 
ment that  sprang  up  in  Jewish  circles,  but  soon  burst 
all  national  and  racial  bounds.  He  is  not  one  to  allow 
the  Gospel  to  run  in  a  small  canal  apart  from  the  Em- 
pire's life.  He  will  not  have  his  Gospel  confined  to 
the  Ghetto.  To  supercilious  Roman  gentlemen,  the 
church  may  seem  to  be  but  a  Jewish  sect.  He  would 
like  to  open  their  eyes  to  its  true  nature  as  the  leaven 
that  is  to  penetrate  every  stratum  of  society.     .     .     . 


The  Purpose  of  Luke  95 

He  desires  to  win  an  entrance  for  the  Gospel  among 
the  citizens  of  the  Empire.  Here  he  is  just  treading  in 
the  footsteps  of  his  master.  There  is  an  imperial 
breadth  of  outlook." 

There  is  a  logical  order  of  events. — After  the  preface 
(1  :  1-4)  this  Gospel  falls  naturally  into  six  divisions. 

First  (1  :  5-2  :  52),  Narrative  of  the  birth,  childhood 
and  youth  of  John  the  Baptist  and  Jesus. 

Second  (3  :  1-4 :  1 3),  The  preparation  for  the  public 
work  of  Christ. 

Third  (4 :  14-9 :  50),  Christ's  Galilean  ministry. 

Fourth  (9:51-19:28),  Christ's  journey  to  Jeru- 
salem, through  Samaria  and  Perea. 

Fifth  (19 :  29-23 :  56),  The  events  of  Passion  Week. 

Sixth  (24 :  1-53),  From  the  resurrection  of  Christ  to 
His  ascension. 

Sources  and  New  Matter. — The  third  Gospel  has 
much  in  common  with  both  Mark  and  Matthew.  The 
Gospel  of  Luke  has  the  framework  of  Mark.  We 
know  that  Mark  and  Luke  were  together,  in  Rome, 
with  Paul  (Col.  4:10,  14 ;  Phile.  24).  Professor  Har- 
nack,  in  his  "  Date  of  The  Acts  and  the  Synoptic 
Gospels  "  (page  133),  says  :  "  Tradition  asserts  no  veto 
against  the  hypothesis  that  St.  Luke,  when  he  met 
St.  Mark,  in  company  with  St.  Paul  the  prisoner,  was 
permitted  by  him  to  peruse  a  written  record  of  the 
Gospel  history  which  was  essentially  identical  with  the 
Gospel  of  St.  Mark  given  to  the  church  at  a  later 
time."  The  arrangement  of  matter  in  Luke  is  differ- 
ent  from  that  in   Matthew — "  Thus  while   Matthew 


96  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

contains  great  blocks  of  continuous  teaching,  in  Luke 
the  teaching  is  more  mingled  with  the  narrative  out  of 
which  it  is  seen  to  spring.  For  instance  the  Lord's 
prayer  in  Matthew  (6:9-13)  occurs  as  a  part  of  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  but  in  Luke  (11  :  1-4)  it  is 
given  by  Jesus  because  His  disciples  having  watched 
Him  in  prayer,  have  asked  Him  to  teach  them  to  pray." 

Each  Gospel  writer,  being  near  to  the  original 
sources,  had  abundant  materials  from  which  to  draw. 
No  Gospel  professes  to  record  all  that  Jesus  said  and 
did  (John  20 :  30,  31  ;  21  :  25). 

It  has  been  calculated  that  if  the  contents  of  the 
Synoptic  Gospels  are  divided  into  172  sections,  of 
these  172  Luke  has  127,  Matthew  114  and  Mark  84 ; 
and  of  these  172  Luke  has  48  which  are  peculiar  to 
himself,  Matthew  has  22  and  Mark  has  5. 

If  we  reckon  by  the  number  of  verses  Matthew  has 
1,068  verses,  of  which  337  are  not  found  in  Mark  or 
Luke  ;  Mark  has  674  verses  of  which  fifty  are  peculiar 
to  this  Gospel ;  while  Luke  has  1,149  verses  of  which 
612  are  only  found  there. 

The  matter  peculiar  to  Luke  is  rather  more  than 
half  of  the  whole  Gospel. 

Of  the  recorded  miracles  six  are  peculiar  to  Luke, 
three  to  Matthew  and  two  to  Mark.  Of  the  parables, 
eighteen  are  peculiar  to  Luke,  ten  to  Matthew  and 
one  to  Mark.  The  most  notable  narratives,  peculiar 
to  Luke,  appear  in  the  first  three  chapters,  and  in 
Christ's  journey  to  Jerusalem  (9  :  51-19  :  27). 

It  is  to  Luke's  painstaking  research  that  we  havi 


The  Purpose  of  Luke  97 

preserved  to  us  such  miracles  as,  "  The  raising  of  the 
widow's  son  at  Nain,"  "  The  miraculous  draught  of 
fishes,"  "  The  ten  lepers,"  "  The  healing  of  Malchus  " 
etc.,  and  such  parables  as,  "  The  two  debtors,"  "  The 
good  Samaritan,"  "  The  rich  fool,"  "  The  lost  sheep," 
"  The  lost  piece  of  silver,"  "  The  prodigal  son,"  "  The 
unjust  steward,"  "  Dives  and  Lazarus,"  "  The  Pharisee 
and  the  publican,"  etc. 

Among  the  remarkable  utterances  and  incidents, 
alone  set  down  by  Luke,  are  John  the  Baptist's 
answers  to  the  people  (3:10-14);  Christ's  weeping 
over  Jerusalem  (19:41-44);  the  conversation  with 
Moses  and  Elias  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration 
(9 :  28-36) ;  the  bloody  sweat  (22  :  44)  ;  the  sending  of 
Jesus  to  Herod  (23  :  7-12);  the  address  to  the  daugh- 
ters of  Jerusalem  (23  :  27-31);  the  prayer,  "  Father, 
forgive  them  "  (23 :  34) ;  the  penitent  robber  (23 :  39-43) ; 
the  disciples  at  Emmaus  (24  :  13-31)  ;  particulars  of  the 
ascension  (24  :  50-53,  etc.). 

Characteristics. — There  are  certain  marked  features 
of  this  Gospel  which  distinguish  it  from  its  com- 
panions, give  it  an  individuality  of  its  own  and  reveal 
the  spirit  and  temper  of  its  author. 

Glad  tidings  for  all  men. — It  is  a  Gospel  of  joyous 
song.  Luke  is  the  first  Christian  hymnologist.  In? 
the  opening  chapters  are  the  songs  which  the  Church 
has  ever  since  been  delighted  to  use,  as  they  embody 
her  highest  hopes  and  aspirations :  "  The  Ave  Maria  "" 
(1  :  28-33),  the  good  tidings  of  the  angel  Gabriel  to 
Mary;  "The  Magnificat"  (1  :  46-55),  Mary's  song  of 


98  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

rejoicing,  "  My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord  " ;  "  The 
Benedictus "  (1  :  68-79),  Zacharias'  hymn  of  praise 
that  "  the  Lord  God  had  visited  and  redeemed  His 
people  Israel";  "  The  Gloria  in  Excelsis"  (2:13,  14), 
the  praise  of  the  heavenly  host  of  angels  at  the  birth 
of  the  Christ, "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on 
earth  peace,  good- will  towards  men  " ;  "  The  Nunc 
Dimittis  "  (2  :  29-32),  the  rejoicing  of  Simeon,  when 
he  took  the  young  child  Jesus  in  his  arms  and  blessed 
God  that  his  eyes  had  seen  the  salvation,  through  the 
Christ,  that  he  longed  for,  "  A  light  to  lighten  the 
Gentiles  and  the  glory  of  thy  people  Israel."  This 
gladness  of  this  Gospel  shines  out  again  and  again  ;  it 
is  specially  prominent  in  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  the 
three  parables  of  the  finding  of  the  lost  sheep,  the  lost 
coin  and  the  lost  boy. 

Praise  and  Thanksgiving. — Mention  is  made  again 
and  again  of  glorifying  God.  There  is  here  an  exal- 
tation of  spirit  which  moves  men  to  praise  (2 :  20 ; 
5:25;  7:16;  13:  13;   17:15;  18:43;  23:47). 

Prayer. — We  find  here  more  frequent  references  to 
prayer  than  in  the  other  Gospels.  There  is  not  only 
a  record  of  the  Lord's  prayer,  as  in  Matthew,  but 
Luke  alone  tells  us  that  our  Lord  prayed  on  "  six  dis- 
tinct and  memorable  occasions:  1.  At  His  baptism ; 
2.  After  cleansing  the  leper ;  3.  Before  calling  the 
Twelve  Apostles ;  4.  At  His  Transfiguration  ;  5.  On 
the  cross  for  His  murderers,  and  6.  With  His  last 
breath.  Luke  insists,  reporting  Christ,  on  the  duty  of 
unceasing  prayer  (18 : 1 ;   11:8;   21:  36)."     In  the 


The  Purpose  of  Luke  99 

parable  of  the  Pharisee  and  the  publican  (18: 10-14)  he 
shows  what  kind  of  prayer  is  acceptable  and  what  is  not. 
In  the  parable  of  the  friend  at  midnight  (11  :  5-1 3)  and 
of  the  unjust  judge  (18 :  1-8)  he  shows  the  need  of  a 
persistent  energy  and  a  holy  importunity  in  prayer. 

Good-will  and  tolerance. — It  is  the  Gospel  of  a 
Saviour  for  all  men  and  of  a  universal  good-will  to 
all  classes  and  conditions.  The  Christ  came  heralded 
by  angel  carols  (2:13,  14)  ;  He  departs  blessing  men 
with  uplifted  hands  (24 :  50). 

What  a  contrast  between  the  Jewish  religion  which 
Christ  found  and  that  which  He  came  to  preach  ! 
The  former  had  degenerated  into  a  religion  of  ha- 
treds. "  The  then  *  religious  world/  clothing  its  own 
egotism  under  the  guise  of  zeal  for  God,  had  for  the 
most  part  lost  itself  in  a  frenzy  of  detestations.  The 
typical  Pharisee  hated  the  Gentiles  ;  hated  the  Samari- 
tans ;  hated  the  tax  gatherers.  He  despised  poverty 
and  despised  womanhood.  There  was  a  deadly  blood 
feud  between  the  Jews  and  the  Samaritans.  Into  this 
atmosphere  of  ill-will  and  intolerance  Luke  represents 
our  Lord  coming  as  Christus  Consolator  towards  every 
age,  either  sex,  all  nations,  all  professions,  men  of 
every  opinion  and  every  shade  of  character ;  He  is 
the  good  Physician  of  bodies  and  souls  ;  the  Gospeller 
of  the  poor ;  the  Brother  who  loves  all  His  brethren 
in  the  great  family  of  men  ;  the  unwearied  Healer  and 
ennobler  of  sick  and  suffering  humanity ;  the  Desire 
of  all  nations  ;  and  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  who  went 
about  doing  good."     Christ  taught  the  largest  toler- 


loo  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

ance  when  He  chose  the  Good  Samaritan,  rather  than 
the  indifferent  priest  of  the  cold-hearted  Levite,  as  the 
type  of  love  of  neighbor.  He  rebuked  two  of  His 
disciples  who  would  call  down  fire  from  heaven  upon 
an  inhospitable  Samaritan  town. 

Womanhood. — What  a  host  of  good  women  are 
mentioned  and  commended !  Mary  and  Elizabeth, 
the  mothers  of  Jesus  and  John  the  Baptist.  Mary  is 
supposed  to  be  one  of  the  eye-witnesses  from  whom 
Luke  got  much  of  his  information,  recorded  in  the 
first  chapters.  Then  there  are  the  lifelike  portraits  of 
Anna,  the  aged  prophetess ;  the  Magdalen,  as  one 
from  whom  Jesus  cast  out  seven  demons  ;  the  widow  at 
Nain,  whose  son  He  restores  to  life ;  Mary  and  Martha, 
whom  we  see  serving  and  worshipping ;  the  women  of 
Jerusalem,  who  sympathize  with  Jesus  on  His  way  to 
the  cross.     He  ever  delights  to  honor  womanhood. 

Sympathy  with  the  poor  and  the  outcast. — The  rec- 
ords are  frequent  of  the  mercy  of  Christ  towards  the 
humble  and  the  despised.  It  was  an  angel  who  ap- 
peared to  Mary,  the  humble  maiden  of  Nazareth.  It 
was  a  heavenly  host  which  announced  the  birth  of 
the  Christ  to  the  humble  shepherds.  Jesus  chose  the 
disciples,  who  were  to  be  nearest  to  Him  and  who  were 
to  be  His  spokesmen  after  His  resurrection,  from  the 
humble  fishermen  of  Galilee.  The  poor,  the  lame,  the 
halt  are  invited  to  a  great  supper.  The  humble  are  to 
be  exalted.  The  point,  in  the  parables  of  the  Rich 
Man  and  Dives  and  the  Rich  Fool,  is  not  against 
riches  but  that  the  rich  man,  in  his  thoughtless  self- 


The  Purpose  of  Luke  101 

indulgence,  is  apt  to  neglect  his  suffering  neighbor. 
Riches  will,  if  great  care  is  not  taken,  stifle  everything 
good  in  a  man's  heart.  Luke  is  the  only  evangelist 
that  records  our  Lord's  advice  that  when  we  make  a 
feast  we  should  not  be  content  to  invite  our  personal 
friends  and  our  wealthy  neighbors  but  should  gather 
in  the  poor  and  afflicted  for  our  guests.  It  is  the 
heart  that  is  to  be  kept  humble  towards  God. 

There  is  Fpecial  care  for  the  outcast.  "  For  the  Son 
of  Man  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost " 
(19:  10).  The  three  parables  in  the  fifteenth  chapter 
are  all  to  this  point.  He  seeks  to  save,  unto  the  utter- 
most, the  publican,  the  harlot,  the  prodigal.  "  To  give 
light  to  them  that  sit  in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of 
death  "  (1  :  79). 

The  ivorld  ministry. — Christ  was  to  be  a  light  to 
lighten  the  Gentiles  as  well  as  the  glory  of  His  people 
Israel  (2 :  32).  In  Him  was  fulfilled  the  prophecy, 
"  That  all  flesh  shall  see  the  salvation  of  God  "  (3  :  6). 
Christ  opened  (4:  16-21)  and  closed  (24:45-47)  His 
ministry  with  a  declaration  of  its  universality. 

When  and  Where  Written. — It  is  not  easy  to  de- 
termine just  where  this  Gospel  was  given  to  the  world. 
Luke  must  have  been  some  time  in  gathering  the  ma- 
terial for  it  and  its  companion  work,  The  Acts  of  the 
Apostles.  It  is  undated  in  itself.  The  attempt  to  de- 
termine the  date  from  internal  evidence  has  not  resulted 
in  a  complete  success.  Many  scholars  favor  a  date 
after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  or  between  70  and 
80.     It  is  perfectly  possible  to  hold,  with  other  schol- 


102  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

ars,  to  a  date  previous  to  70,  the  year  in  which  Je- 
rusalem was  destroyed.  The  limits,  not  wide,  of  the 
dates  proposed  do  not  count  against  the  perfect  au- 
thenticity of  this  great  work.  Professor  Harnack,  in 
his  "  Date  of  The  Acts  and  the  Synoptic  Gospels  " 
(page  124),  asserts  :  "  It  seems  now  to  be  established 
beyond  question  that  both  books  of  this  great  histor- 
ical work — The  Gospel  of  Luke  and  The  Acts — were 
written  while  St.  Paul  was  still  alive." 

For  What  Readers  ? — What  is  the  central  idea  ?  It 
is  certain  that  each  Gospel  sets  forth  Jesus  Christ 
plainly  as  the  Saviour  of  men,  but  the  writers  present 
the  same  truth  in  different  forms. 

When  the  Gospels  were  written  there  were  three  great 
races — the  Roman,  the  Greek  and  the  Jewish — with 
their  distinctive  racial  ideas.  These  ideas  have  sur- 
vived the  races. 

In  the  Roman  race,  "  the  will,  or  that  part  of  man 
which  pushes  to  action,  and  enables  him  to  control 
and  mould  nature  and  mankind,  was  the  predominant 
element."  The  Roman  was  the  man  who  did  things. 
He  believed  in  power  but  it  was  the  power  of  the  state 
and  limited  to  this  world.  He  attempted  and  accom- 
plished herculean  tasks  in  the  building  up  of  a  colossal 
Empire ;  his  thoughts  did  not  go  beyond  this.  His 
measure  of  a  man  was  what  he  could  do  here  and  now. 
He  made  his  gods  in  the  likeness  of  himself. 

The  Jewish  race  had  made  all  the  great  ventures 
into  the  unseen  world.  It  was  the  law  of  an  unseen, 
all  powerful,  God  to  which  the  Jew  owned  allegiance 


The  Purpose  of  Luke  103 

and  not  to  that  of  any  earthly  potentate,  however 
powerful.  The  God  of  the  Jew  was  too  great  to  have 
any  image  made  by  which  to  worship  Him.  What 
had  been  revealed  by  this  God  in  the  past  would  be  his 
law.  The  spirit,  or  that  part  of  man  which  links  him 
to  God,  was  the  predominant  element  with  the  Jew. 

The  Greek  race  conceived  its  mission  as  that  to 
perfect  humanity.  The  Greeks  were  the  representa- 
tives of  reason  and  humanity  in  the  ancient  world. 
They  were  the  cosmopolites  of  their  age.  But  in  their 
efforts  to  be  broad  they  stumbled.  They  made  their 
gods  in  their  own  likeness.  They  deified  not  only 
the  virtues  but  the  base  passions,  which  were  consid- 
ered as  godlike  as  the  virtues. 

It  would  have  been  a  strange  Gospel  which  would 
not  take  into  account  these  racial  ideas  and  attempt  to 
mould  them  to  its  new  conception  of  things.  It  has 
been  asserted  that  Mark,  in  writing  his  Gospel,  took 
into  account  the  Roman  conception  of  things — hence 
he  begins  on  his  level  and  raises  him  to  a  higher  one. 
Jesus  is  represented  as  the  Mighty  Worker,  whose 
will  is  law  in  this  world  and  the  world  to  come.  Mat- 
thew begins  his  Gospel  with  an  appeal,  to  the  past  and 
to  the  prophets,  that  Jesus  is  the  long  expected  Mes- 
siah sent  by  the  unseen,  all-powerful  God,  whom  the 
Jew  had  worshipped  in  the  past. 

Luke's  Gospel  has  a  world-wide  character  all  its  own. 
It  appeals  to  different  readers.  It  meets  the  need  of 
the  Greek  for  the  real  perfection  of  humanity. — It  is  not 
without  significance  that  our  New  Testament  books 


1 04  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

are  written  in  the  Greek  language.  There  were  many 
good  things  about  the  Greek  way  of  looking  at  things. 
He  considered  that  his  mission  was  to  perfect  human- 
ity. He  stood  for  the  supremacy  of  reason ;  he  had 
made  all  the  great  adventures  into  the  world  of  phi- 
losophy. He  brought  the  arts  to  a  perfection  which, 
in  many  respects,  has  never  been  equalled.  He  was  a 
world  man ;  he  could  meet  all  men  on  the  common 
platform  of  humanity  as  the  Jew  and  Roman  could 
not.  But  there  were  some  very  serious  defects  in  the 
Greek  way  of  looking  at  things.  Beside  making  gods 
of  his  virtues  and  base  passions,  to  be  worshipped 
alike  with  equal  fervor,  this  bright  world  was  his  all. 
"  His  theory  blotted  out  the  other  and  higher  world 
and  left  him  utterly  worldly,  having  no  hope  and  with- 
out God  in  the  world.  This  world  was  his  home,  his 
province,  his  grave.  He  sought  his  happiness  in  it. 
His  only  wish  was  that  it  might  last  forever.  He 
sought  not  only  to  get  the  utmost  out  of  his  mind  but 
also  to  get  the  utmost  pleasure  out  of  his  body,  with- 
out a  thought  of  the  virtue  or  vice  of  it.  This  world's 
revels,  dances,  theatrical  exhibitions,  races,  battles, 
academic  groves — where  literary  leisure  luxuriated — 
these  were  blessedness,  and  his  hell  was  death.  The 
Greek  poets  speak  pathetically  of  the  misery  of  the 
wrench  from  all  that  is  dear  and  bright."  When  Paul 
preached  the  resurrection  from  the  dead  at  Athens,  he 
was  openly  scoffed  at.  In  many  ways  the  Greek  way 
of  looking  at  things  is  beginning  to  make  itself  felt  in 
our  modern  civilization — to  its  detriment. 


The  Purpose  of  Luke  105 

The  problem  of  Luke  was  to  meet  the  Greek  on  the 
broad  platform  of  humanity  and  to  ennoble  it.  He 
presents  Jesus  Christ  as  the  ideally  perfect  Divine 
Man — as  well  as  Divine  Saviour — touching  man  on  all 
sides  and  having  an  interest  in  man  as  man.  He 
came  into  the  world,  heralded  with  songs  ;  disease 
and  pain  fled  at  His  touch ;  He  revealed  the  beauty 
of  holiness  ;  He  was  interested  not  only  in  the  best 
but  in  the  worst  of  men.  The  longing  of  the  soul  of 
the  Greek  for  the  bright  here  and  the  hereafter  was 
met.  His  multitude  of  deities  was  swept  away  and  in 
its  place  came  that  of  a  vision  of  a  great  and  righteous 
God.  Christ  was  shown,  by  Luke,  as  the  universal 
God  Man,  the  pattern  and  brother  for  all  ages. 

"  This  Gospel  represents  Christ  to  us  in  His  inti- 
mate, and  yet  His  universal  relationship  to  men,  the 
Mediator  between  the  one  God  and  all  men." 

QUESTIONS 

The  purpose  of  Luke — what  has  the  preface  to  say  about 
it  ?  What  can  be  said  of  other  narratives  already  in  exist- 
ence? What  was  the  threefold  purpose  of  Luke  in  writing  ? 
What  can  be  said  of  the  author  ?  What  three  things  may 
be  said  of  him?  How  is  the  material  arranged?  What 
can  be  said  of  the  sources  of  this  Gospel  and  the  new  matter 
embodied  in  it?  What  are  the  characteristic  features  of 
this  Gospel — Glad  tidings  for  all  men,  Praise  and  thanksgiv- 
ing, Prayer,  Good-will  and  tolerance,  Womanhood,  Sym- 
pathy for  the  poor  and  the  outcast,  The  world  ministry? 
When  and  where  written  ?  For  what  readers  was  it  writ- 
ten ?  What  were  the  three  great  racial  ideas  ?  How  did 
Luke  meet  the  wants  of  the  Greek  ? 


STUDY  VII 

THE  CERTAINTY  OF  THE  SAVIOUR 

The  Appeal  to  the  Facts.— In  the  end  it  is  this 
appeal  which  wins  any  case.  Luke  takes  his  stand 
upon  the  "  certainty  "  (i  :  4)  of  the  reality  of  the  Christ. 
He  does  not  argue.  He  does  not  plead.  With  him 
it  is  historical  proof  which  counts.  He  consults  eye- 
and  ear-witnesses.  He  personally  associated  with 
those  who  had  personally  associated  with  Jesus  during 
His  life  upon  earth.  He  presents  a  careful  historical 
record  chronologically  arranged  without  discussion. 
There  is  no  indefiniteness  here,  yet  withal  there  is  a 
charm  and  picturesqueness  about  the  telling  which  has 
commanded  and  held  the  attention  of  the  world  ever 
since  this  book  was  written. 

Before  Luke  wrote  his  Gospel  he  had  come  to  a 
vivid  realization  of  the  power  and  the  world-wide 
character  of  Christianity.  He  had  seen  this  religion, 
bursting  the  bounds  of  Judaism  and  pursuing  its  vic- 
torious course  over  the  Roman  Empire,  subdue  to 
itself,  and  gather  into  its  fold,  all  sorts  and  conditions 
of  men  of  different  races,  mental  types  and  religious 
beliefs.  He  had  not  only  been  a  keen  observer  of  the 
course  of  events  but  also  an  active  worker  with  Paul, 
the  great  missionary.  He  was  well  qualified  for  his 
work. 

106 


The  Certainty  of  the  Saviour  107 

The  best  presentation  of  any  cause  is  in  the  showing 
of  the  solidity  of  the  foundation  of  fact  upon  which  it 
rests.  Argument  may  be  met  by  argument  but  a  fact, 
well  established,  does  not  admit  of  argument.  A  fact 
can  take  care  of  itself  under  any  and  all  circumstances. 
Luke  wisely  chose  to  base  his  Gospel  upon  the  fact  of 
Christ.  It  was  this  fact  which  would  make  its  own 
plea  to  all  men  for  all  time. 

The  fact  of  the  person  of  Christ. — Here  is  no 
shadowy,  ill-defined  figure,  but  one  who  is  born  at  a 
certain  time,  in  a  certain  place  and  who,  on  coming  to 
manhood's  estate,  stands  out  as  the  chief  person  of  his 
race  and  all  races.  His  is  the  strong  personality  about 
which  all  the  events  of  the  book  group  themselves. 
With  Him  a  new  era  began  not  only  for  His  own  race 
but  for  the  whole  world.  Notice  how  in  the  very  be- 
ginning of  this  Gospel  Luke  ties  up  the  narrative  of 
the  birth  of  Christ  with  contemporaneous  events — 
"  There  was  in  the  days  of  Herod  the  king  "  (1  :  5), 
"  There  went  out  a  decree  from  Caesar  Augustus  that 
all  the  world  should  be  taxed  "  (2  :  1),  "  In  the  fifteenth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Tiberius  Caesar "  (3:1).  Luke 
wants  us  to  know  just  when  Christ  came  and  what  was 
happening  in  the  world  at  large.  He  tells  us  that 
Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus,  declared — "  From  hence- 
forth all  generations  shall  call  me  blessed  "  (1  148) : 
a  wonderful  prophecy  of  what  has  actually  come  to 
pass.  Again  he  tells  us  that  Simeon,  a  devout  man, 
waiting  in  the  temple  for  the  consummation  of  his 
hope  of  seeing  the  Christ  in  the  flesh,  declared,  when 


108  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

he  saw  the  child  Jesus,  that  He  was  "  A  light  to 
lighten  the  Gentiles  and  the  glory  of  thy  people 
Israel "  (2 :  25,  26,  32) :  here  is  another  remarkable 
forecast  of  what  has  actually  come  to  pass.  Christ  is 
to-day  the  light  of  the  Gentiles  and  the  Jews  have  in 
Him  their  greatest  hero.  So  has  Christ's  personality 
impressed  itself  upon  the  world  that  this  world  reckons 
its  time,  a.  d.,  as  from  a  new  age  which  began  with 
Him. 

The  fact  of  the  work  of  Christ. — It  is  not  always  easy 
for  a  man  to  find  the  work  for  which  he  is  fitted,  or 
for  others  to  find  it  for  him.  But  with  Christ,  accord- 
ing to  Luke,  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  work  which 
He  came  to  do.  Here  is  no  groping  after  a  mission. 
One  has  only  to  read  the  first  three  chapters  to  see 
how  clearly  this  work  is  defined.  The  program  is  set 
forth  here,  which  He  literally  followed.  He  is  born — 
"  A  Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord  "(2:1 1).  At 
the  opening  of  His  ministry,  in  the  city  of  Nazareth, 
in  the  synagogue,  He  read  from  the  prophet  Isaiah — 
"  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  Me,  because  He  hath 
anointed  Me  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  poor ;  He 
hath  sent  Me  to  heal  the  broken  hearted,  to  preach 
deliverance  to  the  captives,  and  recovering  of  sight  to 
the  blind,  to  set  at  liberty  them  that  are  bruised,  to 
preach  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord.  And  He 
closed  the  book  and  gave  it  again  to  the  minister  and 
sat  down.  And  the  eyes  of  all  them  that  were  in  the 
synagogue  were  fastened  on  Him.  And  He  began  to 
say  unto  them,  ■  This  day  is  this  Scripture  fulfilled  in 


The  Certainty  of  the  Saviour  109 

your  ears  '"  (4:  16-21).  But  the  sixty-first  chapter 
of  Isaiah,  from  which  the  above  is  quoted,  is  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  work  of  the  Messiah.  Jesus,  in  declaring 
this  Scripture  fulfilled  in  Him,  declared  Himself  to  be 
the  Messiah.  In  His  parting  instructions  (24 :  44-5  3) 
to  His  disciples  it  is  shown  how  Jesus  had  broadened 
His  mission,  so  that  it  might  include  all  nations. 

The  fact  of  the  authority  and  power  of  Christ. — With 
the  wisest  and  strongest  men  power  and  authority- 
exist  in  limited  degrees.  In  this  narrative  of  Luke 
power  and  authority  exist  unlimited  in  the  Christ. 
Men  hesitate  to  believe  in  acts  that  are  beyond  the 
ordinary  capacity  of  man  to  accomplish  :  this  is  one 
reason  for  the  hesitancy  to  believe  in  acts  of  power 
and  authority  of  the  Christ,  which  we  call  miracles. 
But  we  are  beginning  to  see,  in  our  day,  that  a  man 
with  a  highly  endowed  mental  equipment  and  a  su- 
perior knowledge  of  the  laws  of  nature  may  easily  do 
things  which  are  perfectly  incomprehensible  to  the  or- 
dinary man.  A  higher  power  will  always  dominate  a 
lower.  The  lower  law  must  give  way  to  the  higher. 
We  have  by  no  means  solved  the  problem  of  the  mir- 
acles of  Christ ;  but  we  do  begin  to  see  the  light  that 
this  high  and  all  commanding  personality  of  Christ 
easily  controlled  nature.  Luke  would  have  been  dere- 
lict in  his  duty,  as  a  historian,  if  he  had  not  given  to 
us  the  accounts,  as  he  had  them  vouched  for,  of  the 
wonderful  works  which  Christ  did.  He  does  not  stop 
to  argue  about  them,  he  records  them,  which  is  what 
we  want  in  a  historian.     In  the  person  of  Christ  is  a 


l  io  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

mighty  being  whose  word  is  with  power  (4 :  32)  and 
authority  (4 :  36).  He  heals  the  sick,  He  commands 
nature,  He  raises  the  dead.  We  are  here  dealing,  ac- 
cording to  Luke,  not  with  heresay  or  argument,  but 
with  well  attested  facts. 

The  fact  of  the  teaching  of  Christ. — First — Manner. 
He  taught  with  Authority.  He  did  not  quote  prece- 
dents as  other  teachers  ;  it  was  an  "  I  say  unto  you." 
He  spoke  as  One  whose  own  eyes  were  gazing  on  the 
objects  of  the  eternal  world. 

He  taught  with  Graciousness.  There  was  an  infinite 
tenderness  in  all  that  He  said.  He  had  come  to  win 
men  to  a  new  life  and  man's  soul  was  a  thing  infinitely 
precious  to  Him.  His  object  was  to  seek  and  to  save 
the  lost.  "  It  mattered  not  under  what  humble  dress 
or  social  deformity  the  pearl  of  the  soul  was  hidden  ; 
it  mattered  not  even  beneath  what  rubbish  and  filth  of 
sin  it  was  buried ;  He  never  missed  it  for  a  moment. 
Therefore  He  spake  to  His  hearers  of  every  grade 
with  the  same  respect.  Surely  it  was  the  graciousness 
of  divine  love  itself,  uttering  itself  from  the  innermost 
recess  of  the  divine  being,  that  spoke  in  the  parables 
of  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  Luke." 

He  taught  with  Power.  "  They  were  astonished  at 
His  doctrine  for  His  word  was  with  power."  His 
hearers  were  profoundly  moved  when  He  spoke. 

He  taught  with  Boldness.  "  Lo,  He  speaketh 
boldly."  He  did  not  hesitate  to  expose  shams  and 
hypocrisy. 

He  taught  with  Originality.    "  Never  man  spake 


The  Certainty  of  the  Saviour  1 1 1 

like  this  man."  His  was  a  new  philosophy  of  sorrow 
and  suffering ;  a  new  law  of  self-sacrifice  and  a  new 
law  of  love  for  fallen  humanity. 

He  taught  with  Penetration  and  Vitality.  His 
words  reveal  men  to  themselves  and  they  impart  new 
life. 

Second — Form.  He  mostly  used  short,  pithy  sen- 
tences  packed  with  the  weightiest  truths.  Never  long ; 
He  ceases  to  speak  when  the  interest  is  at  its  highest 
point.  He  taught  by  paradoxes,  parables,  figures  of 
speech  as  well  as  by  direct  discourse.  He  was  a  dili- 
gent student  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  of 
nature,  of  society,  of  ways  of  business  ;  He  used  them 
all.  He  took  the  most  common  objects  and  made 
them  glow  with  spiritual  truth.  The  multitudes  were 
captivated  by  this  Wonderful  Teacher ;  they  thronged 
Him  wherever  He  appeared. 

Third — Matter.     His  great  subjects  were  : 

(A)  "  The  Kingdom  of  God,"  "  The  Kingdom  of 
Heaven."  He  labors  to  express  what  this  Kingdom 
is ;  the  character  required  of  its  members ;  His 
Father's  and  His  own  relation  to  it.  The  incidents  of 
His  teaching  were — how  to  escape  from  sin,  become 
like  God  and  attain  to  eternal  life.  In  its  spiritual 
character  this  "  Kingdom  of  God  "  was  opposed  by 
the  Jews  who  were  looking  for  the  Messiah  to  estab- 
lish a  great  temporal  kingdom  on  this  earth. 

(B)  "  The  center  and  soul  of  Christ's  preaching 
was  Himself.  He  contained  within  Himself  the  new 
era.     He  not  only  announced  it,  but  created  it.    The 


112  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

new  character  which  made  men  subjects  of  the  King- 
dom was  to  be  got  from  Him  alone.  Therefore  the 
practical  issue  of  every  address  of  Christ  was  the  com- 
mand to  come  to  Him,  to  learn  of  Him  and  to  follow 
Him." 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  GOSPEL  OF  LUKE 

After  the  preface  this  Gospel  falls  naturally  into  six 
unequal  parts. 

THE  LITERARY  PREFACE 
(i  :  1-4) 
Luke  here  states  his  object  in  writing  this  Gospel. 
The   key   word   is  "  Certainty."     The   plainly  ex- 
pressed desire  is  to  assure  Theophilus  of  the  historical 
reality  of  the  Christian  truths  in  which  he  had  been 
instructed. 

i.     THE  ADVENT  OF  THE  SAVIOUR 
(i  :  5-2  :  52) 

1.  The  promised  birth  of  John  the  Baptist,  the 
Forerunner  of  the  Saviour  (i  :  5-25). 

#.  The  annunciation  to  Mary,  of  the  birth  of  Jesus, 
by  the  angel  Gabriel  (I  :  26-38). 

3.  The  visit  of  Mary  to  Elizabeth. — Songs  of  thanks- 
giving of  Mary  and  Elizabeth  for  the  honor  given  to 
them  (1  :  39-5 6). 

J/..  Birth  and  youth  of  John  the  Baptist,  the  Fore- 
runner of  the  Saviour.  The  song  of  thanksgiving  of 
his  father,  Zacharias  (1  :  57-80). 


The  Certainty  of  the  Saviour  113 

6.  The  birth  of  Jesus,  the  Saviour,  in  a  manger. 
The  announcement,  by  an  angel,  to  the  shepherds — 
11  For  unto  you  is  born  this  day  in  the  city  of  David  a 
Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord.11  The  thanksgiving 
song  of  the  Heavenly  Host  (2  :  1-20). 

6.  The  circumcision  of  Jesus  and  His  presentation  in 
the  Temple. — Songs  of  thanksgiving  of  Simeon  and 
Anna  when  they  saw  Jesus.  The  youth  of  Jesus 
(2 :  21-52). 

2.     PREPARATION  FOR  THE  WORK  OF 

THE  SAVIOUR 

(3:  i-4:i3) 

1.  The  preparatory  preaching  of  John  the  Baptist. 
He  announces  the  speedy  coming  and  the  work  of  the 
Saviour  (3 :  1-20). 

2.  The  baptism  of  Jesus. — The  descent  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  a  Voice  from  heaven  declaring  of  Jesus, 
"  Thou  art  my  Beloved  Son  ;  in  thee  lam  well  pleased11 
(3:21,  22). 

3.  The  genealogy  of  Jesus  is  traced  to  Adam  and 
to  God  (3  :  23-38). 

4.  Jesus1  victory  over  the  tempter  (4  :  I— 1 3). 

3.     THE  WORK  OF  THE  SAVIOUR  IN 
GALILEE 

(4:14-9:50) 
1.     Events  in  Nazareth. — Jesus  now  begins  a  very 
active  career  in  His  presentation  of   Himself  as  the 
promised  Messiah  and  the  Saviour.     He  exhibits  His 


1 14  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

divine  power,  at  first,  for  the  salvation  of  the  chosen 
people  Israel.  His  fame  is  heralded  throughout  all 
Galilee.  He  goes  into  the  synagogue  in  Nazareth 
and  taking  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  turns  to  the 
sixty-first  chapter  of  Isaiah.  He  declares  that  this 
prophecy  of  Isaiah,  in  regard  to  the  Messiah  and 
Saviour  to  come,  is  fulfilled  in  Himself — "  This  day," 
He  says,  "  is  this  Scripture  fulfilled  in  your  ears."  He 
could  not  speak  more  plainly  and  more  to  the  point. 
It  is  upon  this  declaration  that  He  is  rejected  and  is 
obliged  to  leave  Nazareth.  Luke  is  in  no  doubt,  in 
his  effort  after  "  Certainty,"  that  the  Messiahship  of 
Jesus  was  not  an  afterthought,  but  one  that  He  claimed 
for  Himself  at  the  beginning  of  His  career  (4: 14-30). 

2.  Events  in  Capernaum. — In  this  city  Jesus,  at 
the  first,  casts  out  an  unclean  spirit  from  a  man  and 
heals  many  who  are  sick.  His  fame  continues  to  in- 
crease. The  people  marvel  at  His  power  and  authority 
over  evil  spirits.  The  devils,  which  were  cast  out  by 
Him,  cried  out,  saying,  "  Thou  art  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God  "  (4  :  31-41). 

3.  Events  in  Galilee. — Jesus  now  seeks  a  wider 
field  and  preaches  throughout  Galilee  (4  :  42-44). 

4,.  From  the  call  of  the  first  disciples  to  the  choosing 
of  the  Twelve  (5  :  1-6  :  1 1). — In  the  miraculous  draught 
of  fishes  (5  :  1-11),  the  cleansing  of  the  leper  (5  :  12- 
16),  and  forgiving  the  sins  of  the  paralytic  man  before 
healing  him  (5  :  17-26),  Jesus  shows  His  power  to 
control  nature,  heal  disease  and  forgive  sin.  The  call 
of  Levi  from  the  receipt  of  custom  (5  :  27,  28)  is  fol- 


The  Certainty  of  the  Saviour  115 

lowed  by  a  discussion  upon  fasting  and  the  proper 
keeping  of  the  Sabbath  day  (5  :  29-6 :  1 1),  in  which 
Jesus  makes  His  position  very  clear. 

5.  From  the  choosing  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  to  the 
sending  them  out  (6 :  12-8  :  56). — The  choosing  of  the 
Twelve  was  preceded  by  Jesus  praying  all  night,  on  a 
mountain,  to  God  (6 :  12-16).  After  the  calling  of  the 
Twelve,  Jesus  sets  forth  the  great  principles  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
(6 :  17-49).  The  working  out  of  man's  faith  and  the 
compassion  of  Jesus  are  shown  in  the  healing  of  the 
centurion's  son  and  the  raising  from  the  dead  of  the 
widow's  son  of  Nain  (7:11-17).  The  ability  and 
willingness  of  Jesus  to  help,  heal  and  save  men,  is 
shown  in  His  reply  to  the  disciples  of  John  the  Baptist 
and  His  rebuke  of  a  Pharisee  (7  :  18-50).  Jesus  con- 
tinuing to  tour  Galilee,  He  goes  into  every  city  and 
village  and  preaches  the  glad  tidings  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God,  the  twelve  being  with  Him  (8  :  1-3).  In  the 
parable  of  the  sower  He  shows  how  the  growth  and 
development  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  depend  upon 
how  men  hear  and  heed  its  behests  (8  :  4-18).  In  His 
reply  to  His  mother  and  His  brethren  He  shows  the 
difference  between  natural  and  spiritual  kinship  (8  :  19- 
21).  In  the  stilling  of  the  tempest  on  the  lake  of 
Galilee,  the  healing  of  the  Gadarene  demoniac,  the 
cure  of  the  woman  with  an  issue  of  blood  and  the 
raising  from  the  dead  of  the  daughter  of  Jairus,  Jesus 
again  reveals  His  supreme  power  over  nature,  evil, 
disease  and  death  (8  :  22-56). 


1 16  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

6.  From  the  sending  out  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  to 
their  return  (9  :  1-17)- — The  Twelve,  having  been  fully 
instructed,  are  sent  forth  to  preach  what  Jesus  has 
taught  them  and  with  His  full  authority.  When  they 
return  they  give  a  report  of  their  success  to  their 
Master.  Being  in  a  desert  place  belonging  to  the  city 
of  Bethsaida,  the  people,  from  all  quarters,  throng 
them  and  Jesus  gives  a  great  feast  to  thousands  of 
people. 

7.  From  the  great  declaration  of  Peter  that  Jesus 
is  "The  Christ  of  God,11  and  the  transfiguration  of 
Christ}  to  His  final  departure  from  Galilee  (9 :  18-50). — 
Jesus  had  declared,  according  to  Luke,  that  the  Mes- 
sianic prophecy  of  Isaiah  (61 :  1)  was  fulfilled  in  Him 
at  the  very  opening  of  His  ministry  in  Galilee  (4  :  18- 
21).  Now  at  the  close  of  that  ministry  He  asks  His 
disciples  what  impression  He  has  made  during 
that  ministry.  He  asks  what  people  say  of  Him. 
Among  the  answers  He  receives  is  that  of  Peter — 
"  Thou  art  the  Christ  of  God,"  which  He  acknowledges 
to  be  the  true  one.  He  follows  this  acknowledgment 
with  the  unexpected  announcement  that  He  must  be 
rejected  of  His  people  and  be  crucified.  This  is  fol- 
lowed by  the  astonishing  revelation  that  He  will  be 
raised  from  the  dead  upon  the  third  day.  All  this 
shows,  according  to  Luke,  how  fully  Jesus  understood 
His  mission  as  the  Messiah  and  Saviour  and  how  He 
sought  to  prepare  His  disciples  for  that  which  was 
shortly  to  come  to  pass.  The  transfiguration  scene  in 
which  there  was  a  voice  from  heaven — "  This  is  my 


The  Certainty  of  the  Saviour  1 1 7 

beloved  Son  " — must  have  still  further  prepared  His 
disciples,  as  they  remembered  it  afterwards,  for  their 
work  after  Jesus  had  been  raised  from  the  dead  and 
had  ascended  from  whence  He  came. 

4.    THE  JOURNEY  OF  THE  SAVIOUR 

TO  JERUSALEM 

(9:51-19:28) 

This  journey  was  through  Samaria  and  Perea. 

This  section  of  Luke  records  the  departure  of  Jesus 
for  the  final  conflict  in  Jerusalem.  It  is  the  travel 
narrative  of  a  "  slow,  solemn  and  public  progress  from 
Galilee  to  Jerusalem  "  of  which  some  of  the  events 
seem  to  be  grouped  by  subjective  considerations. 
Many  incidents  and  parables  related  here  (the  lost 
sheep,  the  lost  coin,  the  prodigal  son,  the  good  Sa- 
maritan, etc.)  are  not  found  in  the  other  Gospels. 
Jesus  understands  fully  that  an  ignominious  death 
awaits  Him  in  Jerusalem.  He  looks  forward  to  His 
supreme  sacrifice  there;  yet  in  that  sacrifice  He  sees 
the  triumph  of  His  cause.  When  He  foretells  His 
death  He  also  foretells  His  resurrection — "  The  Son 
of  man  must  suffer  many  things,  and  be  rejected  of 
the  elders,  and  chief  priests  and  scribes,  and  be  slain 
and  be  raised  the  third  day  "  (9 :  22).  "  And  it  came 
to  pass,  when  the  time  was  come  that  He  should  be 
received  up,  He  steadfastly  set  His  face  to  go  to 
Jerusalem  "  (9  :  5 1). 

1.  The  final  departure  from  Galilee  (9  :  51)- 

2.  A  Samaritan  village  refuses  to  receive  Him, — • 


1 1 8  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

This  gives  Jesus  an  opportunity  to  show  what  the 
spirit  of  His  disciples  should  be  (9 :  51-56). 

8.  Three  answers  to  three  men,  who  would  follow 
Him,  as  to  what  following  Him  meant  (9 :  57-62). 

4..  Seventy  disciples  are  sent  out,  "  two  by  two,  be- 
fore His  face  into  every  city  and  place,  whither  He 
Himself  would  come."  These  are  given  instructions 
in  regard  to  the  preaching  of  the  coming  Kingdom 
(10:  1-24). 

5.  In  the  parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan,  the 
entertainment  in  the  house  of  Martha  and  Mary,  and 
the  talk  on  prayer  (with  the  Lord's  prayer)  Jesus 
shows  who  is  the  good  neighbor,  the  one  thing  need- 
ful, and  the  necessity  for  being  earnest  in  prayer  (10 : 
25-1 1 :  13). 

6.  In  the  incidents  related  in  chapters  11 :  H- 13 : 
21  is  shown  the  contrast  between  the  Kingdom  of  God 
and  Satan;  true  religion  and  false  conceptions  of  it. 
Here  is  also  recorded  the  opposition  with  which  the 
Pharisees  met  the  teaching  of  J  ssus  and  what  He  said 
about  it.  The  incidents  are-  Casting  out  demons 
(11 :  14-28)  ;  The  sign  of  Jonah  (11  :  29-36)  ;  Jesus 
pronouncing  woes  against  the  Pharisees  (11  :  37-54)  J 
Warnings  against  hypocrisy  and  covetousness  (12: 
1-59);  The  Galileans  slain  by  Pilate  (13:  I -9) ;  The 
woman  healed  on  the  Sabbath  (13  :  10-21). 

7.  In  answer  to  the  question,  "Are  there  few  that  be 
saved  V  (13:23)  Jesus  shows  the  true  way  of  salvation, 
that  it  is  not  confined  to  any  class  or  race,  but  is  for  all 
who  accept  its  terms  (13:22-35).     Chapter  14  is  a 


The  Certainty  of  the  Saviour  119 

continuation — in  the  incidents  of  the  man  healed  on 
the  Sabbath,  the  wedding  guest,  who  to  invite  to  a 
feast,  the  guests  who  made  excuses  when  invited  to  a 
great  supper  and  the  discourse  on  counting  the  cost 
of  following  Christ — of  the  answer  to  the  question — 
"  Are  there  few  that  be  saved  ?  "  For  salvation  it  is 
shown  that  there  must  be  humility,  regard  for  the 
poor,  obedience  of  the  divine  call,  the  laying  of  proper 
foundations  and  a  whole-hearted  earnestness. 

8.  In  the  three  parables  of  grace,  given  in  chapter 
15 — the  lost  sheep,  the  lost  coin  and  the  lost  boy — 
the  cause  of  Christ's  coming  is  shown  to  be,  from  His 
own  statement,  to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost.  In  this 
seeking  His  power  is  exerted  unto  the  uttermost.  In 
the  two  parables  of  warning,  given  in  chapter  16 — 
the  unjust  Stewart  and  Dives  and  Lazarus — some  of 
the  evil  consequences  of  failing  to  seek  the  higher 
riches  are  shown. 

9.  As  Jesus  continues  to  draw  near  to  Jerusalem 
He  continues  His  discourses  on  His  mission,  He  heals 
the  sick,  He  utters  parables  and  He  still  further  pre- 
pares His  disciples  for  the  consummation  of  His  work 
in  His  death  and  resurrection  (17:1-19:28).  The 
following  are  the  incidents,  parables,  etc. :  Discourse 
concerning  offenses,  forgiveness  and  faith  (17:  1-10)  ; 
The  cleansing  of  ten  lepers  (17  :  11-19);  Discourse  as 
to  "  How  and  when  the  Kingdom  shall  come  "(17: 
20-37)  J  The  importunate  widow  (18  :  1-8)  ;  The  par- 
able of  the  Pharisee  and  the  Publican  and  the  blessing 
of  little  children  (18  :  9-17)  ;  The  incident  of  the  rich 


no  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

young  ruler  who  asks  the  question,  "  What  shall  I  do 
to  inherit  eternal  life?"  (18  :  18-30);  Jesus  again  pre- 
dicts His  death  and  resurrection  (18:31-34);  Jesus 
restores  the  sight  of  a  blind  man  near  Jericho  (18  :  35- 
43)  J  Jesus  enters  and  passes  through  Jericho  on  His 
way  to  Jerusalem.  We  have  here  related,  on  His  way, 
the  incident  of  the  visit  to  Zaccheus  and  the  parable 
of  the  pounds  (19:  1-27) ;  Jesus  now  ascends  up  to 
Jerusalem  (19:  28). 

5.     THE  PASSION  WEEK  OF  THE  SAVIOUR 

(19:29-23:56) 

This  section  covers  the  time  from  Sunday  to  Friday. 

The  incidents  of  these  days  are  narrated  by  all  four 

evangelists  with  more  fullness  of  detail  than  any  other 

portion  of  the  life  of  Christ. 

1.  Jesus  rides  in  triumph  to  the  city  of  Jerusalem 
from  the  Mount  of  Olives.  He  predicts  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  city,  which  He  wanted  to  save,  when  He 
approaches  it.  He  enters  the  city  and  cleanses  the 
Temple.  At  the  very  beginning  of  this  great  last  week, 
He  asserts  His  claim  as  the  Messiah  and  His  authority 
over  the  Temple.  The  multitude  cry,  "  Blessed  be 
the  King  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord :  peace 
in  heaven  and  glory  in  the  highest "  (19  :  29-48). 

2.  The  issue  between  the  leaders  of  Israel  and  Jesus 
is  now  joined.  They  see  no  way  out  of  either  re- 
ceiving Him,  and  acknowledging  His  claims  as  the 
Messiah,  or  His  death.  It  is  quite  plain  that  they  are 
deliberately    planning    His    death    (20 :  19,    20).     In 


The  Certainty  of  the  Saviour  121 

chapters  21  and  22  Jesus  is  sharply  taken  to  task  in 
regard  to  His  authority — "  Tell  us,  it  is  asked,  by  what 
authority  doest  Thou  these  things  ?  "  When  He  an- 
swers He  is  put  upon  the  rack  again.  It  is  plain  that, 
whatever  He  may  answer,  the  leaders  of  Israel  are  de- 
termined to  put  Him  to  death.  Jesus  in  turn  asks 
questions  and  shows  His  questioners  the  danger  of 
their  course  of  action  and  what  it  will  result  in  for 
them  and  their  nation.  The  questions,  discourses  and 
incidents  are  as  follows  :  The  question  of  the  authority 
of  the  Christ  (20 :  1-8)  ;  The  reply  of  the  parable  of  the 
vineyard  let  out  (20 :  9-18) ;  The  question  about  the 
tribute  money  (20:  19-26)  ;  The  question  of  the  Sad- 
ducees  in  regard  to  the  future  state  (20  :  27-39)  ;  The 
question  of  Christ,  by  which  He  silences  the  scribes 
(20  :  40-44)  ;  Warning  of  Christ  against  the  hypocrisy 
of  the  scribes  (20  :  45-47)  ;  The  lesson  of  the  widow's 
mite  (21  :  1-4);  Jesus  foretells  the  destruction  of  the 
Temple  (21:5,6);  Jesus  unrolls  the  map  of  the  future 
and  gives  the  signs  and  warnings  of  the  last  times 
(21:7-38). 

3.  TJie  end  is  at  hand. — The  death  of  Jesus  is  de- 
creed. The  plots  of  the  chief  priests  and  scribes  only 
wait  the  opportune  time  (22  :  1-6).  Jesus,  fully  aware 
that  His  death  is  determined  upon,  institutes  "  The 
Last  Supper  "  in  which  He  sets  forth  the  significance 
of  His  death  (22  : 7-38).  The  last  events  hasten  to 
their  consummation.  The  agony  in  the  garden  of 
Gethsemane  ;  the  betrayal  by  Judas  (22  :  39-49)  ;  The 
arrest  (22:50-53);  The  trial  before  the  priests  and 


122  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

Peter's  denials  with  the  first  derision  (22  :  54-65) ;  The 
trial  before  the  Sanhedrin  in  which  Jesus  declares  His 
office  (22:66-71);  The  trials  before  Pilate  (with  the 
first  acquittal)  and  before  Herod  (with  the  second 
derision  and  second  acquittal,  23:1-12);  Pilate  at- 
tempts to  release  Jesus  but  the  Jews  choose  Barabbas ; 
Jesus  is  condemned  to  death  (23 :  13-26) ;  The  wailing 
women  (23:27-31);  The  crucifixion,  the  death  and 
burial  of  Jesus  (23  :  32-56). 

6.  THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  SAVIOUR 
(24:  i-53) 

No  cause  ever  seemed  so  hopelessly  lost  as  that  of 
Jesus  when  He  was  crucified.  It  is  scarcely  possible 
to  place  ourselves  back  at  that  time  and  to  appreciate 
the  feelings  of  the  followers  of  Jesus  the  day  after  the 
entombment.  They  had  hoped  for  so  much  and  now 
there  was  nothing  left  to  hope  for. 

It  is  little  to  be  wondered  at  that  when  the  first  re- 
port of  the  fact  that  Jesus  had  risen  from  the  dead  was 
heard  by  the  disciples  that  they  could  not  credit  it.  It 
was  good  news  indeed,  but  too  good  to  be  true.  When 
the  good  news  was  realized  to  be  true  their  joy  ex- 
ceeded all  bounds.  There  was  now  no  trouble  to  make 
converts. 

1.  The  resurrection  (24 :  1-49). — The  announcement 
by  the  two  men  "  in  shining  garments,"  to  the  women 
who  had  come  to  the  sepulchre,  that  Jesus  had  risen 
from  the  dead  (24 :  1-12)  ;  The  appearance  of  Jesus  to 
the  two  disciples  on  the  way  to  Emmaus  (24: 13-32) ; 


The  Certainty  of  the  Saviour  123 

The  appearance  of  Jesus  to  the  eleven,  on  the  first 
resurrection  day,  when  He  asked  them  to  touch  and 
handle  Him  that  they  might  be  convinced  of  the 
reality  of  His  body  (24:33-49);  Jesus  declared  the 
broad  scope  of  His  work  for  all  nations  (24 :  47). 

&  The  ascension  (24:50-53). — Jesus,  having  lin- 
gered upon  earth  long  enough  to  perfectly  assure  His 
disciples,  ascended  on  high. 

QUESTIONS 
In  Luke's  appeal  to  the  facts  upon  what  does  he  take  his 
stand  ?  What  had  Luke  come  to  realize  before  he  wrote  his 
Gospel  ?  How  is  any  cause  best  presented  ?  What  does 
Luke  have  to  say  about  the  fact  of  the  person  of  Christ — 
His  work,  His  authority  and  power,  His  teaching  (matter, 
form  and  manner)  ?  Into  how  many  parts,  after  the  pref- 
ace, is  Luke's  Gospel  divided  ?  What  is  the  key  word  of 
the  literary  preface  ?  Give  the  six  points  under  the  advent 
of  the  Saviour.  Give  the  four  points  under  the  preparation 
for  the  work  of  the  Saviour.  What  can  be  said  of  the  work 
of  the  Saviour  in  Galilee — events  in  Nazareth — events  in 
Capernaum — events  in  Galilee — the  points  from  the  call  of 
the  first  disciples  to  the  choosing  of  the  Twelve — the  points 
from  the  choosing  of  the  Twelve  to  the  sending  of  them  out 
— from  sending  out  the  Twelve  to  their  return — from  the 
great  declaration  of  Peter  to  the  final  departure  of  Christ 
from  Galilee  ?  What  can  be  said  of  the  journey  of  the 
Saviour  to  Jerusalem  and  the  nine  points  set  down  under  it  ? 
What  can  be  said  of  the  Passion  Week  of  the  Saviour  and 
the  three  points  set  down  under  it  ?  What  can  be  said  of 
the  triumph  of  the  Saviour — the  resurrection  and  ascension  ? 


STUDY  VIII 

THE  CLEAR  VISION  OF  JOHN 

The  Object. — The  age  in  which  the  Gospel  of  John 
was  written  was  very  different  from  that  of  Paul's 
Epistles  and  the  Synoptic  Gospels.  Jerusalem,  the 
Holy  City,  had  been  destroyed  and  the  Temple 
overthrown.  Christianity  had  separated  itself  from 
Judaism.  It  was  definitely  appealing  to  a  Gentile 
world.  Its  converts  were  now  mostly  Gentile.  The 
hotly  debated  question,  so  prominent  in  Paul's  time,  as 
to  whether  a  man  ought  to  become  a  Jew,  and  obey 
the  Jewish  law,  before  he  became  a  Christian,  had 
ceased  to  have  the  slightest  significance. 

After  the  more  than  fifty  years  that  had  elapsed 
since  the  resurrection  of  the  Christ,  Christianity  found 
itself  in  a  new  political,  philosophical  and  social  at- 
mosphere. During  this  time  the  Gospel  had  been 
preached  throughout  the  Roman  Empire.  There  had 
been  a  multitude  to  embrace  the  faith  and  many  had 
been  martyred  in  the  great  persecutions  that  had 
arisen.  The  greatness  of  Christ  and  His  work  were 
more  clearly  seen  by  the  Church. 

Old  opponents  had  passed  away  but  new  ones  had 
taken  their  places.  The  arguments  formerly  used  in 
the  Jewish  synagogue  and  the  appeals  to  Old  Testa- 
ment prophecy  were  losing  their  force. 

124 


The  Clear  Vision  of  John  125 

The  problem  now  was  how  to  meet  and  to  win  the 
Gentile  Greek — the  master  thinker  of  the  world.  The 
Greek  had  already  seen  the  reason  in,  and  the  beauty 
of,  the  Gospel.  He  had  taken  its  message  to  himself 
but  in  taking  it — here  was  the  trouble — he  had 
mingled  it  with  his  philosophy  which  gave  rise  to  her- 
esies that  perplexed  the  ablest  teachers  in  the  Church. 
This  was  an  unexpected  development. 

Christianity,  to  live  its  own  life  and  to  make  its  own 
way,  had  now  to  be  disentangled  from  Greek  philo- 
sophical speculations,  which  would  have  smothered  it, 
as  Jewish  legalism  had  threatened  its  life  at  a  former 
time.  In  Ephesus,  the  hotbed  of  Greek  heretical 
speculations,  the  crisis  was  an  acute  one. 

It  was  the  clear  vision  of  John  which  revealed  the 
solution  of  the  problem.  It  is  in  his  Gospel  that  this 
matter  is  really  settled.  The  Gentile  Greek  is  ad- 
dressed not  in  a  Jewish  vocabulary  but  one  which^ 
speaking  a  universal  language,  he  can  understand.  It 
is  the  old  message  of  Mark,  Matthew  and  Luke,  but  it 
is  given  with  a  new  phraseology  and  a  new  setting 
adapted  to  the  times.  The  central  doctrine — "  The 
Incarnation  of  Christ " — of  the  Christian  faith  is 
brought  to  the  front  (I:  I,  14) — "In  the  beginning 
was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the 
Word  was  God."  "  And  the  Word  was  made  flesh." 
The  reader  is  never  allowed  to  lose  sight  of  this  doc- 
trine. At  the  close  of  the  Gospel  the  author  states  his 
purpose — with  a  due  regard  for  what  the  other  evan- 
gelists have  done — "  And  many  other  signs  truly  did 


126  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

Jesus  in  the  presence  of  His  disciples,  which  are  not 
written  in  this  book :  but  these  are  written  that  ye 
might  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God ; 
and  that  believing  ye  might  have  life  through  His 
name." 

"  This  idea  of  life  to  be  derived  from  Jesus,  and  from 
no  other  source,  is  prominent  in  the  whole  Gospel. 
Christ  is  the  source  of  life  of  a  real  and  lasting  kind, 
and  it  can  only  be  obtained  through  mystic  contact 
with  Him.  This  is  because  Jesus  is  the  full  revelation 
of  God  in  human  life."  Christianity  here  rests  upon 
a  foundation  of  its  own. 

The  Subject  Matter. — The  theological  aspect  of  this 
Gospel  is  very  prominent.  It  is  that  which  constitutes 
its  value  for  the  Christian  faith.  It  is  that  which 
brought  it,  at  the  very  first,  into  the  arena  of  contro- 
versy ;  and  it  is  that  which  keeps  it  there.  We  have 
this  matter,  in  brief,  set  forth  in : 

The  Prologue  (i  :  1-18). — This  is  the  most  careful, 
compact  and  to  the  point  piece  of  writing  in  the  New 
Testament.  "  The  •  Word,'  or  Greek  ■  Logos,'  here 
stands  for  the  divine  preexistent  nature  of  the  Messiah, 
which  became  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us  as  Jesus 
Christ,  the  God-man."  The  working  out  of  this  theme 
engages  the  whole  of  the  Gospel. 

"  The  Greek  term  l  Logos '  denoted  not  simply 
reason,  but  the  speech  in  which  reason  uttered  itself. 
Now  the  Greek  philosophical  speculations  upon  the 
*  Logos  '  had  been  primarily  concerned  with  the  prob- 
lem of  the  relations  between  the  created  universe  and 


The  Clear  Vision  of  John  127 

God,  which  was  supposed  to  be  solved  by  the  theory 
that  the  divine  reason  pervaded  the  world.  Philo, 
working  upon  the  Jewish  conception  of  the  '  Word/ 
made  the  '  Logos  '  the  organ  of  God's  self-revelation 
to  men  as  well  as  His  creative  power."  So  far  so 
good,  but  there  were  many  features  in  the  Philonian 
view  which  were  not  so  clear  and  which  did  not  accord 
with  John's  idea.  But  here  was  a  term  which  the 
Gentile  Greek  could  understand  and  an  idea  which 
greatly  interested  him.  For  John's  purpose  the 
Logos-idea  was  more  important  in  its  exodus  than  in 
its  genesis.  It  was  a  point  of  contact  between  Greek 
philosophy  and  Christianity. 

In  this  fourth  Gospel  the  "  Logos  "  or  the  "  Word  " 
was  baptized  into  the  Christ,  the  God-man,  divine  and 
preexistent,  which  became  flesh  and  dwelt  amongst  us. 
"  It  served  to  guide  generations  of  believing  men  into 
a  fuller  apprehension  of  Jesus  than  the  previous 
Messianic  categories  of  the  synoptic  theology  could 
have  done." 

Notice  how  phrase  after  phrase  is  most  carefully 
chosen,  in  the  prologue,  to  give  right  ideas  of  the 
"  Word,"  or  Christ,  and  to  prevent  misconceptions. 
"  In  the  beginning  "  (1  : 1),  is  the  way  in  which  the 
Old  Testament  opens.  The  "  Word  "  was  in  the  be- 
ginning ;  He  did  not  come  into  existence  then ;  He 
was  preexistent.  He  was  not  an  inferior  aeon  or 
emanation,  subsequent  to  the  original  order  of  things. 
He  was  in  vital  relations  with  God.  He  was  God  by 
nature.     "  It  was  through  this  '  Word  '  alone  that  God 


128  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

created  the  universe.  Through  the  *  Word '  every- 
thing came  into  being,  and  apart  from  the  '  Word '  no 
existence  came  into  being — a  side  stroke  at  the  Gnostic 
theories  of  creation  through  angels  or  a  plurality  of 
inferior  aeons,  of  matter  as  self-existent  or  of  the 
Creator  as  distinguished  from  the  Redeemer.  .  .  . 
Then  follows  the  work  of  the  *  Word.'  Life — in  the 
pregnant  sense  of  the  term — was  in  the  '  Word '  as 
divine,  and  that  life  was  the  light  of  men,  as  opposed 
to  the  Gnostic  doctrine  that  the  powers  of  creation  were 
at  issue  with  the  highest  revelation  of  God.  .  .  . 
Those  who  accept  Him — to  them  He  has  given  the 
right  of  becoming  God's  children,  that  is  to  those  who 
believe  in  His  name,  who  owe  their  birth  to  God,  not  to 
human  blood,  nor  to  any  impulse  of  the  flesh,  nor  (as 
some  Gnostics  taught)  to  the  human  will.  So  the 
•  Word '  became  flesh  (instead  of  a  phantom  Jesus,  as 
the  docetic  Gnostics  taught),  and  tarried  among  us, 
and  we  saw  His  glory — glory  such  as  an  only  Son  has, 
who  came  from  His  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth. 
.  .  .  From  His  fullness  have  we  all  received  grace 
after  grace." 

Selection  and  Arrangement  of  Material.— The 
fourth  Gospel,  after  the  prologue  (i :  1-18),  may  be 
divided  into  three  unequal  parts.  The  theme,  as 
stated  before,  is  the  Incarnation  of  Christ — "  And  the 
Word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us,  (and  we  be- 
held His  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father,) 
full  of  grace  and  truth  "  (1  :  14).  That  which  follows 
is  an  elaboration  of  this  theme.     There  were  many 


The  Clear  Vision  of  John  1 29 

other  signs  which  Jesus  gave,  many  words  which  He 
spoke,  many  journeys  which  He  took  of  which  no  ac- 
count is  taken  here.  The  material  used  is  selected 
and  arranged  (21  :  25)  with  a  certain  carefully  thought 
out  purpose  and  to  produce  a  certain  result  of  faith  in 
an  Incarnate  Saviour  (20:  30,  31). 

1.  Christ  reveals  Himself  to  the  world  as  the 
Eternal  Word  (1  :  19-12:50).  He  is  recognized  and 
testified  to  by  John  the  Baptist,  by  the  Spirit,  by  the 
first  disciples  and  a  miraculous  sign.  His  words  and 
works  bear  out  His  claims.  He  proclaims  Himself 
"  The  Light  of  the  World."  He  is  antagonized  yet 
triumphant. 

2.  Christ  makes  an  inner  revelation  of  Himself  to 
His  disciples  (chapters  13— 17).  He  manifests  Himself 
to  His  disciples  at  the  Last  Supper  in  the  bread  and 
the  wine  and  in  His  discourses  that  they,  after  His 
death  and  resurrection,  may  carry  forward  His  work 
and  win  the  world  for  Him. 

3.  The  humiliation  and  glorification  of  the  Christ 
(chapters  18-21).  The  Christ  is  subjected  to  a  hu- 
miliating death  but  that  very  humiliation  results  in  His 
exaltation  and  glory,  for  it  was  for  the  saving  of  men. 

Double  Purpose — The  effort  of  this  Gospel  is  to 
prove,  on  the  one  hand,  that "  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,"  and  on  the  other  hand  to  lead  its  readers 
into  such  belief  in  Him  that  they  may  be  truly  united 
to  Him  and  "  have  life  in  His  name." 

In  its  attempt  to  prove  that  "  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,"  the  Gospel  of  John  resembles  the  Gospel 


130  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

of  Matthew,  but  its  apologetic  purpose  is  avowed  even 
more  distinctly  and  is  carried  out  with  even  more  con- 
sistency and  thoroughness  than  in  the  latter  work. 
Moreover  the  author  undertakes  to  show  not  simply 
that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah,  as  Matthew  does,  but  that 
He  is  a  spiritual  being  of  a  higher  order  than  man. 
This  in  fact  is  what  the  term  "  Messiah  "  or  "  Son  of 
God "  means  to  him  when  he  applies  it  to  Jesus. 
Jesus  is  not  simply  a  man  called  and  anointed  by 
God  to  do  a  particular  work  in  the  world ;  He  is  the 
incarnation  of  a  preexistent  heavenly  being,  who  came 
from  God  and  at  the  end  of  His  earthly  career  returns 
to  God.  Thus  the  author  represents  Jesus  as  living 
constantly  under  the  sense  of  His  higher  nature,  and 
all  His  words  and  deeds  are  interpreted  in  the  light 
of  it.  His  omniscience  and  His  omnipotence  are  fre- 
quently emphasized  and  viewed  as  manifestations  of 
His  higher  nature;  and  the  miracles  which  He  per- 
forms are  not  primarily  for  the  good  of  others,  as  in  the 
Synoptic  Gospels,  but  many  of  them  at  least  are  done 
simply  as  signs  to  show  that  He  has  superhuman 
power  and  that  He  is  "  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God  " 
(20:  30,  31).  And  so  the  author's  apologetic  purpose 
leads  him  to  represent  John  the  Baptist  solely  in  the 
character  as  a  witness  to  Jesus  (1  :  29-36);  leads  him 
to  emphasize  the  testimony  of  Christ's  enemies  to  the 
wonderful  nature  of  His  signs  and  miracles  (7  :  45,  46  ; 
1 1 :  46,  47 ;  12:19,  42)  ;  leads  him  to  call  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  betrayal  of  Jesus  and  His  death  at  the 
hands  of  His  enemies  were  only  a  fulfillment  of  His 


The  Clear  Vision  of  John  131 

own  purposes,  that  they  took  place  only  in  His  own 
good  time  and  in  accordance  with  His  will,  and  were 
thus  a  sign  of  His  power  and  not  of  His  weakness 
(10:17,  18;  18:4;  19:11).  Many  other  objections 
against  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus  are  met  and  answered 
by  Jesus  Himself  in  this  Gospel :  for  instance,  that  He 
has  appeared  without  proper  legitimation  (9 :  29-41) ; 
that  He  has  not  the  Spirit  of  God,  which  the  true 
Messiah  should  have,  but  on  the  contrary  a  devil 
(8:48-58);  and  finally  that  He  suffers  death  instead 
of  abiding  and  setting  up  a  permanent  kingdom  as  the 
true  Messiah  is  to  do  (10:  15-18;  11:51,52;  12:32). 
But  the  Gospel  of  John,  though  so  largely  apologetic 
both  in  form  and  in  content,  is  not  simply  an  apology. 
As  already  said,  it  is  also  an  effort  to  lead  its  readers 
into  such  belief  in  Christ  as  shall  truly  unite  them  to 
Him  and  thus  give  them  life.  And  so  the  significance 
of  Christ  to  the  believer,  and  the  true  relation  between 
them,  are  emphasized  at  great  length,  that  relation 
being  represented  in  genuine  Pauline  fashion  as  a 
complete  mystical  unity.  It  is  thus  not  only  Christ, 
in  Himself,  in  whom  the  author  is  interested,  but  also 
Christ  in  His  relation  to  man,  and  particularly  to  be- 
lievers. Indeed,  the  saving  fellowship  of  the  believer, 
with  him,  is  the  ultimate  aim  of  the  work.  The  author 
would  prove  Jesus  to  be  the  Christ  in  order  to  arouse 
faith  in  Him,  and  thus  bring  about  the  fellowship 
which  means  salvation"  (20:31)  ("A  History  of 
Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age,"  by  Prof.  A.  C. 
McGiffert,  D.  D.,  pp.  609,  610). 


132  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

Relation  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  to  Mark,  Matthew 
and  Luke. 

The  four  points  of  agreement. — The  fourth  Gospel 
presupposes,  on  the  part  of  its  readers,  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  other  three.  It  aims,  with  a  purpose 
of  its  own,  to  supplement  and  not  to  supplant  them. 
"  The  day  is  now  over,  or  almost  over,  when  this 
Gospel  and  the  other  three  can  be  played  off  against 
each  other,  as  though  the  latter  were  matter-of- 
fact  and  homogeneous  chronicles  and  the  former 
a  spiritual  reading  of  an  earlier  tradition.  .  .  . 
Recent  criticism  of  the  synoptic  Gospels  has  brought 
them  nearer  to  the  fourth  Gospel.  .  .  .  All  the 
Gospels  were  written  for  the  promotion  of  faith  in 
Christ  and  the  motto  of  John  20:31  would  also 
apply  to  the  synoptics,  but  in  a  special  sense  to 
Mark ;  for  in  spite  of  the  difference  of  angle  from 
which  Mark  and  John  view  the  Messianic  dignity  of 
Jesus,  both  aim  at  demonstrating  that  He  is  the  Son 
of  God "  (Prof.  James  Moffatt,  D.  D.,  "  Introduction 
to  the  Literature  of  the  New  Testament,"  pp.  540, 
541).  The  same  eminent  authority  also  says,  in 
his  "  Theology  of  the  Gospels,"  page  174:  "  To  sum 
up :  The  Jesus  of  the  primitive  Church  was  a  Jesus 
whom  believers  hailed  and  worshipped  as  the  Christ 
of  God.  My  point  is  that  an  examination  of  the 
earliest  records,  of  the  sources  behind  Mark  and  the 
other  two  synoptic  Gospels,  shows  that  the  Messianic 
drapery,  or  the  setting  of  His  person,  was  not  the  re- 
sult of  Paulinism  impinging  upon  the  pure  and  orig- 


The  Clear  Vision  of  John  133 

inal  memory  of  a  humanitarian  figure,  who  lived  and 
died  for  the  sake  of  a  message  which  amounted  to 
little  more  than  a  doctrine  of  theism  plus  brotherly 
love.  This  is  a  conclusion  upon  which  several  lines 
of  research  converge."  Here  is  where  the  synoptists 
agree  with  John  in  setting  forth  the  Christ  of  God  as 
the  supreme  object  of  faith.  Further — "  When  the 
filial  consciousness  of  Jesus,  in  the  synoptists,  is  seen 
to  be  prior  to  the  Messianic,  the  starting-point  of  the 
special  Christology  of  the  fourth  Gospel  is  at  once 
granted." 

Upon  the  historical  narrative  there  are  four  main 
points  of  agreement  by  the  four  evangelists  :  1.  The 
incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God.  Each  evangelist  sets 
this  forth  in  his  own  way.  2.  The  life  of  the  Son  of 
God  on  earth  in  human  form  and  subject  to  human 
conditions.  3.  They  all  concur  in  the  great  impor- 
tance of  the  events  of  Passion  Week ;  for,  out  of  twenty- 
eight  chapters,  Matthew  devotes  eight ;  Mark,  out  of 
sixteen,  devotes  six ;  Luke,  out  of  twenty- four,  de- 
votes six  and  John,  out  of  twenty-one,  devotes  ten  to 
what  Jesus  said  and  did  during  this  time  of  the  Judean 
ministry.     4.  The  resurrection  of  Christ. 

Differences. — How  accounted  for?  The  scene  of 
Christ's  ministry  in  the  synoptics  is  mostly  laid  in 
Galilee,  while  that  of  the  fourth  Gospel  is  mostly  laid  in 
Judea  and  Jerusalem.  There  are,  however,  frequent 
references  in  the  latter  Gospel  to  Jesus  being  in 
Galilee,  in  its  cities  and  by  its  lake  (1  :  43  ;  2 :  I  ;  2  :  12 ; 
4:3;  4 :  43-46 ;  6:1;  7:1).     This  Galilean  ministry 


134  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

seems  to  have  been  well  known  to  John.  The  pur- 
pose is  evidently,  however,  to  place  considerable 
emphasis,  in  the  matter  of  the  narrative,  upon  the  last 
week  of  Christ's  ministry  upon  earth,  for  out  of 
twenty-one  chapters  John  uses  ten  in  setting  forth  its 
events. 

In  the  fourth  Gospel  we  have  an  account  of  five 
visits  of  Jesus  to  Jerusalem  and  the  mention,  at  least, 
of  three  celebrations  of  the  passover  (2:  13;  6:4; 
11  :  55  ;  cf.  5  :  1)  ;  whereas  the  synoptics  mention  but 
one  visit  to  the  capital  city  for  the  final  celebration  of 
the  passover.  As  in  the  fourth  Gospel  there  are  re- 
peated references  to  the  ministry  of  Jesus  in  Galilee, 
so  in  the  synoptics  expressions  occur,  "  such  as  the 
Saviour's  lamentation  over  Jerusalem  (Matt.  23:37; 
Luke  1 3 :  34),  which  would  be  unintelligible  if  this 
ministry  had  been  confined  to  Galilee."  No  one  of 
the  Gospels  professes  to  be  a  complete  narrative. 
"  In  the  gaps  in  the  narratives  of  Mark,  Matthew,  and 
Luke  there  is  plenty  of  room  for  all  that  is  peculiar  to 
the  fourth  Gospel.  In  the  spaces,  deliberately  left  by 
John  between  his  carefully  arranged  scenes,  there  is 
plenty  of  room  for  all  that  is  peculiar  to  the  synoptics. 
When  all  have  been  pieced  together  there  still  remain 
large  interstices  which  it  would  require  many  more 
Gospels  to  fill"  (John  21  :  25). 

The  peculiarities  of  style  and  thought  of  the  Gospel 
of  John  may  be  accounted  for  to  a  large  extent  by  the 
personal  characteristics  of  the  author,  the  vast  differ- 
ence of  the  circumstances  and  time  under  which  he  wrote 


The  Clear  Vision  of  John  135 

and  those  in  which  the  earlier  Gospels  were  made,  and 
the  new  systems  of  thought  with  which  Christianity 
was  coming  into  contact  and  opposition.  "  It  is  gen- 
erally admitted  that  the  earlier  Gospels  have  reference 
to  distinct  types  of  thought  for  which  they  were 
severally  adapted ;  and  there  is  nothing  surprising  in 
the  fact  that  the  fourth,  and  the  latest,  Gospel  was  de- 
signed to  meet  the  need  for  a  more  intellectual  and 
spiritual  presentation  of  divine  truth  as  an  antidote  to 
the  Gnostic  speculations  which  were  imperilling  at  one 
time  the  recognition  of  the  Saviour's  Divinity,  and  at 
another  time  that  of  His  humanity." 

"  A  characteristic  standpoint  of  the  fourth  Gospel  is 
not  the  yearning  for  Jesus,  the  Messiah,  to  finish  His 
work :  '  It  is  finished '  (19  :  30).  The  prophetic  and 
eschatological  element  in  the  last  supper  sounds  a  still 
higher  note  to  make  it  a  feast  of  love  and  love's  duties 
among  Christians.  It  is  the  intensity  of  a  present 
communion  with  the  living  Lord,  in  the  Spirit,  which 
dominates  the  fourth  Gospel." 

Material  peculiar  to  the  fourth  Gospel. — These  ad- 
ditions may  be  divided  into  words  and  works  of  power 
of  the  Christ. 

The  words.  They  are  of  the  highest  spiritual  char- 
acter. Among  them  are  the  conversations  of  Jesus 
with  Nicodemus  about  the  "  New  Birth  "  (John  3) ; 
the  woman  of  Samaria  (John  4);  the  Jews  at  the 
Feast  of  Tabernacles  and  Dedication  (John  7  and  8) ; 
the  discourse  concerning  the  shepherd  and  the  sheep 
(John  10);  the  great  series  of  talks  and  the  prayer 


136  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

upon  the  occasion  of  the  last  supper  (John  14  to  17 
inclusive). 

The  works.  The  six  miracles  alone  recorded  by- 
John  show  a  high  display  of  divine  power.  1.  At 
Cana  of  Galilee  the  very  substance  of  the  water  is 
changed  (2 :  1-1 1) ;  2.  A  nobleman's  son  is  healed 
from  a  distance  (4  :  46-54) ;  3.  The  cure  of  a  man  dis- 
eased for  thirty-eight  years  (5  :  1-9) ;  4.  The  sight  of  a 
man,  born  blind,  is  restored  (9:  I -7);  5.  The  raising 
of  Lazarus  (11:  1-44) ;  6.  The  miraculous  draught  of 
fishes  (21  :  1-6). 

Authorship. — An  ancient  and  all  but  uniform  tra- 
dition attributed  this  Gospel  to  John  the  beloved 
apostle.  So  the  ancient  Church  and  its  leaders  be- 
lieved and  taught.  Among  those  who  gave  early  tes- 
timony to  John's  authorship  was  Irenaeus — 115  to  202 
a.  d. — bishop  of  Lyons.  He  had  ample  opportunity 
to  know  about  this  matter.  He  lived  when  a  young 
man  in  Asia  Minor  and  was  a  pupil  of  Polycarp, 
bishop  of  the  church  at  Smyrna,  who  was  a  disciple 
of  John  the  apostle,  bishop  of  the  near-by  church  at 
Ephesus.  Irenaeus  makes  many  references  to  all  four 
Gospels.  He  thus  speaks  of  this  fourth  Gospel — "  Af- 
terwards, John,  the  disciple  of  the  Lord  who  leaned  on 
His  breast,  did  himself  publish  a  Gospel  during  his  resi- 
dence at  Ephesus  in  Asia  "  (Adv.  Haer.,  Ill,  1).  He 
tells  us  further  how  he  often  heard  Polycarp  relate  what 
had  been  told  him  by  John  and  other  disciples  of  the 
Lord.  "  He  appeals  to  the  fourth  Gospel  as  John's 
with  a  triumphant  certainty."     Irenaeus  is  but  one  of 


The  Clear  Vision  of  John  137 

many  testifiers  to  John's  authorship.  So  important 
was  this  Gospel  deemed  that  the  opening  verses  of  the 
first  Harmony  of  the  Gospels,  made  in  the  second  cen- 
tury by  Tatian,  were  taken  from  its  prologue.  But 
the  testimony  for  the  authenticity  of  John  is  even 
earlier.  So  the  matter  remained  undisputed  until 
something  over  a  hundred  years  ago,  when  the  whole 
matter  was  thrown  into  controversy  by  a  theory  which 
disputed  the  authorship  of  John.  The  theories  since 
that  time  have  been  legion:  The  authorship  was  at- 
tributed to  a  Platonist  of  the  second  century.  It  was 
attributed  to  John,  the  Elder,  who  is  said  to  have  lived 
in  Ephesus  at  the  close  of  the  first  century,  or  to  an 
unknown  Christian  leader  of  Ephesus,  well  acquainted 
with  the  early  Gospels,  etc.  Again  it  was  declared  that 
while  the  sources  might  be  from  John  the  apostle,  the 
putting  together  of  the  Gospel  was  by  another  and  an 
unknown  hand,  who  had  performed  a  work  for  John 
similar  to  that  which  Mark  had  accomplished  for 
Peter.  The  theories  are  too  many  for  mention  here 
in  our  limited  space.  The  theological  character  of  the 
Gospel  has  served  to  accentuate  the  controversy,  for 
this  Gospel  is  not  favorable  to  those  who  reject  the 
divinity  of  Christ  and  would  make  of  Him  a  mere  hu- 
manitarian figure.  One  result  of  this  controversy  has 
been  to  lead  scholars  of  all  shades  of  opinion  to  ex- 
amine the  external  and  internal  evidences. 

This  thorough  examination  of  the  evidences  has 
brought  this  Gospel  into  a  deserved  prominence.  It 
is  coming  out  quite  clearly  that  this  Gospel  correctly 


138  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

represents  the  condition  of  things  which  Christianity 
had  to  contend  with  at  the  close  of  the  first  century, 
in  the  city  of  Ephesus,  and  that  the  almost  unanimous 
opinion  of  scholars,  of  all  shades  of  opinion,  is  that  the 
sources  of  this  Gospel,  irrespective  of  authorship,  are 
historical.  "  That  this  Gospel  is  a  unity  has  been  and 
still  remains  the  prevalent  opinion  of  critics  of  all 
classes  "  (Prof.  A.  S.  Peake's  "  Critical  Introduction  to 
the  New  Testament,"  p.  226). 

It  can  also  be  held,  with  many  New  Testament 
scholars,  that  John  the  apostle  still  holds  his  place  as 
the  author,  or  source,  of  this  Gospel.  The  evidence, 
outside  the  testimony  of  the  early  Church,  adduced 
for  John's  authorship  is  mainly  along  five  lines  : 

1.  The  writer  is  shown  to  be  a  Jew,  who  is  thor- 
oughly conversant  with  the  state  of  things  in  Palestine 
and  Jerusalem  in  the  time  of  our  Lord.  There  is  a 
large  mass  of  evidence  in  this  Gospel  which  proves 
familiarity  with  Jewish  manners  and  customs,  etc. 

#.  The  writer  is  shown  to  be  a  Palestinian  Jew. — He 
knows  his  Galilee  and  its  cities  well.  "  He  also  knows 
his  Jerusalem  well ;  the  Pool  of  Bethesda  by  the  sheep 
gate  with  its  five  porches,  the  Pool  of  Siloam,  Gol- 
gotha, nigh  to  the  city  with  its  garden  there,  etc." 
When  it  is  remembered  that  this  Gospel  was  written 
many  years  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  it  is  seen 
that  it  would  not  be  easy  for  any  one  not  a  native 
Palestinian  to  move  so  freely  in  the  descriptions  of  a 
city  which  had  been  destroyed. 

3.     The  writer  was  an  eye-witness. — This  is  shown  by 


The  Clear  Vision  of  John  139 

the  ease  with  which  he  moves  among  the  circum- 
stances that  he  describes,  and  by  the  way  in  which  he 
constantly  realizes  the  situation.  He  exhibits  a  re- 
markable knowledge  of  the  Messianic  beliefs  current 
in  the  Judaism  of  the  times  and  he  describes  how 
these  beliefs  affected  the  attitude  of  the  people  towards 
Jesus.  ..."  The  exact  details  as  to  time  and 
place,  persons  and  numbers,  point  to  the  recollections 
of  an  eye-witness.  Special  events  are  associated  with 
definite  localities.  .  .  .  Points  of  time  are  exactly 
indicated  :  the  sixth  hour,  the  seventh  hour,  the  tenth 
hour,  in  the  early  morning.  The  length  of  a  period  is 
indicated  in  several  cases  :  the  duration  of  Christ's 
stay  in  Samaria,  of  His  delay  before  He  went  to 
Lazarus,  of  the  interval  that  elapsed  between  the  death 
and  the  raising  of  the  latter.  Definite  numbers  are 
freely  given,"  etc.  The  impression  is  too  strong  to  be 
shaken  off  that  here  is  a  man  who  is  describing  what 
he  sees.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  facts  about  the 
writings  of  recent  Jewish  critics  is  their  decided  tend- 
ency to  confirm  the  New  Testament  pictures  of  ex- 
ternal Jewish  life.  "  Most  remarkable  of  all  has  been 
the  cumulative  strength  of  the  arguments  adduced  by 
Jewish  writers  favorable  to  the  authenticity  of  the  dis- 
courses in  the  fourth  Gospel,  especially  in  relation  to 
the  circumstances  under  which  they  are  reported  to 
have  been  spoken." 

4-  The  writer  was  an  apostle. — If  he  was  an  eye- 
witness it  is  hardly  conceivable  that  he  could  have 
been   any  one   but   an  apostle.     There  are  so  many 


140  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

intimate  and  personal  touches  in  the  narrative  that  it 
must  have  come  from  the  hand  of  one  who  was  closely 
associated,  for  a  long  time,  with  Jesus.  "  Who  but  an 
apostle  is  likely  to  have  been  present  at  so  many  dif- 
ferent scenes,  in  such  various  places  and  at  such  va- 
rious times." 

5.  The  writer  was  the  apostle  John. — "  If  he  was  an 
apostle  at  all,  only  John  can  be  thought  of.  Of  the 
disciples  most  intimate  with  Jesus,  Peter,  James  and 
John,  Peter  is  excluded  by  the  way  in  which  the  Gos- 
pel speaks  of  him  and  James  by  his  early  death."  The 
modesty  of  John  is  in  evidence  here,  for  while  he  has 
abundant  mention  and  honor  in  Mark,  Matthew,  Luke 
and  Acts  he  does  not  mention  himself  by  name  in  his 
Gospel,  preferring  to  give  honor  to  others  and  exploit 
the  cause  of  his  Lord.  In  the  twenty-first  chapter  of 
this  Gospel,  which  scholars  declare  to  be  an  appendix 
— the  Gospel  reaching  its  proper  close  with  20:  31 — 
there  is  a  statement  of  the  authorship  (21:24;  cf. 
21  :  20)  which  ascribes  it  to  John,  described  as  the 
disciple  who  leaned  on  Jesus'  breast  at  supper.  This 
appendix  has  always  appeared  with  this  Gospel.  "  It 
has  been  commonly  supposed,  if  not  written  by  the 
author,  that  it  was  added  by  the  Ephesian  elders, 
when  the  Gospel  was  first  put  in  circulation." 

Twice  in  this  Gospel  the  writer,  who  is  described  as 
John,  the  apostle,  in  21  :  24;  cf.  21  :  20,  claims  to  be 
an  eye-witness  :  First  (1  :  14),  "  And  the  Word  was 
made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us,  (and  we  beheld  His 
glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father,) 


The  Clear  Vision  of  John  141 

full  of  grace  and  truth."  The  second  passage  is  the 
testimony  of  one  who  stood  by  the  cross  when  Jesus 
was  crucified — "  And  he  that  saw  it  bare  record  and 
his  record  is  true  :  and  he  knoweth  that  he  saith  true 
that  ye  might  believe  "  (19:  35),  but  he  who  stood  by 
the  cross  was  the  "  Beloved  Disciple  "  (19:  25-27)  to 
whom  Jesus  committed  the  care  of  His  mother. 

John,  the  Apostle,  was  well  fitted  for  his  task.  He 
was  with  John  the  Baptist,  as  his  disciple,  when  he 
proclaimed  Jesus  as  the  Messiah.  He  was  among  the 
first  disciples  of  Jesus.  He  followed  his  Lord  all 
through  His  life  on  earth.  He  was  with  Him  at  His 
trial  and  crucifixion.  He  beheld  Him  when  He  rose 
from  the  dead.  He  was  very  prominent  in  proclaim- 
ing His  Gospel  from  the  very  first.  He  had  an  inti- 
mate and  first  hand  knowledge  of  all  that  Jesus  said 
and  did. 

A  brief  sketch  of  his  life  is  as  follows :  John  was 
the  son  of  Zebedee  and  Salome  (Mark  1  :  19-20 ; 
Matt.  20 :  20).  Zebedee  was  well  off,  having  boats 
and  hired  servants  ;  he  is  mentioned  quite  frequently 
as  the  father  of  James  and  John.  Salome,  his  mother, 
ministered  to  Christ  of  her  substance  and  was  present 
at  the  crucifixion  (Mark  15  :  40 ;  Matt.  27  :  56).  John 
early  became  a  disciple  of  John  the  Baptist  and  was 
one  of  the  first  to  follow  Jesus,  after  which,  for  a  short 
time,  he  seems  to  have  gone  back  to  his  old  employ- 
ment, from  which  he  was  again  called  (Mark  1  :  19, 
20;  Matt.  4:  21,  22)  to  become  a  disciple  of  Jesus. 
He  was   one   of  the   chosen   group  of  three,  Peter, 


142  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

James  and  John,  who  were  nearest  to  the  Christ  and 
admitted  to  a  more  intimate  companionship  than  the 
rest ;  they  were  with  Christ  at  the  time  of  His  greatest 
glory  in  the  Transfiguration  (Matt.  17:  I— 13)  and  at 
the  time  of  His  deep  sorrow  in  the  garden  of  Geth- 
semane  (Mark  1 4 :  33).  He  followed  his  Master  to 
the  cross  and  was  there  to  receive  His  last  words,  when 
He  gave  His  mother  into  his  charge  (John  19:  26,  27). 
John  was  with  the  apostles  who  met  Jesus  after  the 
resurrection.  He  did  a  great  work  in  proclaiming  the 
new  religion  which  is  recorded  in  Acts  (chapters  3,  4, 
and  8 :  14-25). 

According  to  a  well  supported  tradition,  for  which 
we  have  the  authority  of  Irenaeus  and  Papias  and  the 
Muratorian  Fragment,  as  well  as  Polycrates  of  Ephe- 
sus  and  Clement  of  Alexandria — all  of  the  second 
century — John  the  apostle  settled  in  the  great  city  of 
Ephesus  late  in  the  sixties.  Here  also  Andrew  and 
Philip  are  said  to  have  resided  in  their  later  years. 
Here  John,  in  virtue  of  his  position  as  an  apostle, 
acted  as  a  bishop  or  superintendent  of  the  church  in 
Ephesus  and  the  churches  in  the  neighboring  cities. 
The  church  in  Ephesus  was  founded  by  Paul  (Acts  19) 
and  later  was  infected  with  those  errors  which  Paul 
had  warned  it  against  (Acts  20 :  29,  30)  and  which  to 
correct,  and  set  forth  the  truth,  John  in  all  probability 
wrote  his  Gospel.  John  lived  until  about  the  close  of 
the  first  century,  according  to  tradition. 

Date  and  Place  of  Writing About  90  a.  d.  and  at 

Ephesus  in  Asia  Minor. 


The  Clear  Vision  of  John  1 45 

QUESTIONS 

Give  the  object  in  writing  this  Gospel.  How  had  Chris- 
tianity to  disentangle  itself  from  speculations  of  Greek  phi- 
losophy as  it  had  from  Jewish  legalism  ?  Give  the  situation 
in  which  Christianity  found  itself.  What  was  the  clear 
vision  of  John  ?  What  doctrine  did  he  set  forth  as  central 
to  the  Christian  faith  ?  What  can  be  said  of  the  subject 
matter  ?  What  does  the  prologue  contend  for  ?  What  can 
be  said  about  the  selection  and  arrangement  of  material? 
Into  how  many  parts  is  this  Gospel  divided  and  what  is  the 
significance  of  this  division  ?  What  is  the  double  purpose 
of  this  Gospel  ?  What  is  the  relation  of  the  fourth  Gospel 
to  the  other  three — the  points  of  agreement — the  differences 
and  how  accounted  for — material  peculiar  to  this  Gospel  ? 
What  can  be  said  of  the  authorship  ?  What  is  the  evidence 
adduced  for  John's  authorship — the  five  lines  ?  What  can 
be  said  of  the  life  of  John  and  his  fitness  to  write  this  Gos» 
pel  ?    Date  and  time  of  writing  ? 


STUDY  IX 

THE  REVELATION  OF  THE  CHRIST 

The  Vital  Questions  of  the  Christian  Faith.— The 
fourth  Gospel  saw  the  light  in  a  time  of  intense  in- 
tellectuality. The  Christian  faith  was  subjected  to 
keen  criticism.  It  was  called  upon  not  only  to  defend 
itself  against  its  detractors,  but  also  to  clearly  and 
plainly  define  itself  in  relation  to  the  philosophical, 
religious  and  social  notions  of  its  times.  It  was  not 
sufficient  to  simply  set  forth  the  historical  facts  of  the 
earthly  career  of  its  Lord.  There  was  need  more  now 
than  ever  before,  since  Christianity  was  claiming  to  be 
"  The  Universal  Religion,"  to  show  how  those  facts 
were  related  to  man's  universal  desire  to  know  God 
and  to  enter  into  right  relations  with  Him.  Irrespective 
of  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  the  race  to  which  he  be- 
longed, the  circumstances  which  claimed  him,  man  has 
ever  asked  the  questions,  "  Who  is  God  ?  "  "  How  is 
man  related  to  Him  ?  "  "  What  is  the  universe  and 
who  made  it  ?  "  "  Is  man  to  live  after  death  ?  "  and 
a  score  of  others.  Upon  the  answers  given  are  built 
up  the  religious,  philosophical  and  social  systems  of 
mankind.     Christ  gave  new  answers  to  the  old  world- 

144 


The  Revelation  of  the  Christ  145 

wide  questions.  If  these  answers  were  accepted  the 
old  systems  must  go.  But  the  acceptance  of  these 
answers  was  vital  to  the  Christian  faith.  Here  was 
the  issue. 

In  this  Gospel  it  was,  and  is,  believed  that  there 
was,  and  is,  a  larger  revelation  of  and  by  the  Christ 
than  in  any  other  New  Testament  writing.  That 
there  is  here  a  new  and  divine  revelation  of  God  to 
man  needs  to  be  taken  into  account  if  the  message  is 
to  be  understood. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  it  is  in  the  revelation  in 
this  Gospel  that  we  have  the  fullest,  clearest  and  ablest 
answers  to  the  world-wide  questions  of  God,  life  and 
destiny  that  have  ever  been  given.  Ever  since 
they  were  given  they  have  been  replacing  the  old 
answers  and  the  new  systems  of  thought  are  being 
built  upon  them.  Some  of  the  questions  answered 
are : 

Who  is  Jesus  Christ  f — How  is  He  related  to  God  ? 
How  is  He  related  to  the  universe  ?  How  is  He  re- 
lated to  man  and  what  can  He  and  what  does  He  do 
for  him  ?  These  were  live  questions  in  Ephesus  and 
they  are  alive  to-day.  They  have  not  lost  one  bit  of 
their  interest.  Men  wanted  then,  as  they  do  now, 
direct  and  positive  answers.  In  the  first  eighteen 
verses  of  the  first  chapter  of  this  Gospel  we  have  a 
statement  of  facts  about  the  Christ.  There  is  here  no 
evasion  of  the  issue.  Christ  was  in  the  beginning. 
He  was  with  God.  He  was  God.  All  things  were 
made  by  Him.     In  Him  was  life :  and  the  life  was  the 


146  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

light  of  men.  ...  He  became  flesh  and  dwelt 
among  us.  .  .  .  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any- 
time ;  the  only  begotten  Son,  which  is  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Father,  He  hath  declared  Him.  These  things 
were  claimed  for  Him  by  the  writer  of  this  Gospel,  but 
afterwards  He  claimed  them  for  Himself.  There  was 
a  divinity  and  authority  in  His  words.  He  healed  the 
sick.  He  forgave  sins.  He  raised  the  dead.  But 
above  all  He  desired  to  help  and  to  save  men.  The 
universal  desire  for  an  earthly  manifestation  of  God  is 
here  satisfied :  The  Word,  which  was  God,  was  made 
known  in  the  flesh  (John  1  :  1,  14). 

How  can  a  man  know  God  ? — How  can  he  come 
into  actual  and  intimate  relations  with  Him?  The 
answer,  given  in  the  third  chapter,  in  Christ's  talk 
with  Nicodemus,  Christianity  has  ever  since  adopted 
as  its  own.  Religion  is  not  simply  a  matter  of  form 
and  ceremony  ;  it  is  a  thing  of  new  heart ;  a  new  life.. 
It  is  a  casting  aside  of  the  old  and  having  done  with 
it.  But  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  for  a  man  to  make 
this  change  for  himself;  hence  divine  spiritual  help  is 
to  be  given  him  by  the  Christ :  "  For  God  so  loved  the 
world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that  who- 
soever believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life." 

Where  and  how  shall  a  man  worship  God? — What 
is  the  true  worship  of  God  ?  Who  is  God  ?  Who  is 
the  Messiah?  These  again  are  universal  questions. 
Nothing  can  equal  the  simplicity,  the  beauty  and  sub- 
limity of  the  answers  which  Christ  gives  to  these  diffi- 


The  Revelation  of  the  Christ  147 

cult  questions  in  His  conversation  with  the  woman  of 
Samaria,  recorded  in  the  fourth  chapter.  The  true 
worshipper  is  taught  that  it  does  not  need  a  particular 
place  or  a  special  time  to  worship  ;  he  can  come  into 
communion  with  God,  in  spirit,  at  any  time  or  at  any 
place.  Then  follows  that  wonderful  definition  of  God — 
"  For  God  is  a  Spirit  and  they  that  worship  Him  must 
worship  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth."  This  answer  of 
the  Christ  sounded  the  death-knell  of  idolatry — so 
prevalent  in  Ephesus  and  the  other  cities  of  the  ancient 
world — and  spelled  the  ruin  of  the  idol  temples.  It 
set  men  free  for  a  spiritual  worship  of  God  (4 :  19-26). 
Who  is  the  Messiah  ?  "  When  He  is  come,"  the 
woman  of  Samaria  asserts,  "  He  will  tell  us  all  things," 
to  which  "  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  I  that  speak  unto  thee 
am  He."  He  is  the  interpreter  of  the  old  and  the 
herald  of  the  new ;  He  is  the  "  Light  and  Life  of  the 
world." 

Does  God  really  care  for  man  ? — There  is  a  lone- 
someness  in  a  man's  soul  that  hungers  for  the  comfort 
of  God.  He  is  the  citizen  of  a  great  universe  which, 
with  all  his  striving,  he  fails  to  understand.  Is  the 
great  power  at  the  heart  of  the  universe  both  loving  and 
kind?  This  question  is  answered  in  John  3:16-21 
and  in  Christ's  discourse  on  the  "  Shepherd  and  the 
Sheep"  (10 :  1-18).  There  can  be  no  more  positive 
teaching  of  the  love  and  kindness  and  care  of  God  for 
man.  See  also  John  15  :  1— 13,  "  Greater  love  hath  no 
man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his  life  for  his 
friends." 


148  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

Is  man  personally  immortal  f — Man  has  ever  been 
striving  to  peer  into  the  future.  This  has  been  one  of  the 
most  debated  of  all  questions  because  it  is  of  universal 
interest.  The  eleventh  chapter  is  taken  to  answer  this 
question,  where  we  are  told  how  Jesus  raised  Lazarus 
from  the  dead.  He  desired  to  make  sure  to  His  dis- 
ciples His  lordship  over  the  realm  of  the  other  world 
in  that  He  could  call  back  a  man  who  had  been  four 
days  dead.  He  declares  :  "  I  am  the  resurrection  and 
the  life :  He  that  believeth  in  Me,  though  he  were 
dead  yet  shall  he  live :  and  whosoever  liveth  and  be- 
lieveth in  Me  shall  never  die"  (11  :  25,  26). 

These,  with  other  questions  (see  the  analysis  which 
follows)  which  are  answered — in  the  discourses  and 
conversations  of  Christ — in  John's  Gospel  are  vital  to 
our  Christian  faith.  Let  a  man  get  right  upon  these 
great  things  and  all  the  minor  ones  will  adjust  them- 
selves. 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  GOSPEL  OF  JOHN 

After  the  prologue  this  Gospel  falls  naturally  into 
three  unequal  parts. 

THE  PROLOGUE 
(1  :  1-18) 

The  subject  is  Jesus  Christ  who  is  here  presented  as 
the  Preexistent,  Eternal,  Divine  Word,  manifested  in 
the  incarnation,  heralded  by  John  and  commended  to 
the  faith  of  every  man. 


The  Revelation  of  the  Christ  149 

1.    THE  REVELATION  OF  CHRIST  TO  THE 

WORLD 

(1:19-12:50) 

The   time,  in   this    section,  embraces   about  three 

years,  and  three  passovers  are  recorded.     The  work  of 

Jesus  was  mainly  in  Judea,  but  several  journeys  to 

Galilee    and    its    cities    are    mentioned.     He   reveals 

Himself  to  the  world  as  the  Eternal  Word. 

1.  Christ  is  proclaimed  as  the  true  Word  of  God 
(1:19-2:12). — (a)  By  the  testimony  of  John  the 
Baptist  who  designates  Him  as  "  The  Lamb  of  God, 
which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world,"  and  declares 
that  "  He  is  the  Son  of  God  "  (1  :  19-34).  (b)  By  the 
testimony  of  the  disciples  who  declared,  "  We  have 
found  the  Messiah,  which  is,  being  interpreted,  the 
Christ"  (1  :  35-51).  (c)  By  the  sign  of  a  miracle,  in 
Cana  of  Galilee,  in  which  the  substance  of  the  water 
is  changed  (2:1-11).  From  Cana  Christ  went  to 
Capernaum  (2  :  12). 

2.  Christ  is  recognized  by  His  work  and  words 
(2  :  13-4 :  54). — Jesus  goes  to  Jerusalem  at  the  time  of 
the  passover  (2 :  1 3).  (a)  As  Master  of  the  Temple, 
which  He  cleanses  (2:  13-25).  (b)  In  the  conversa- 
tion with  Nicodemus  on  the  "  New  Birth  "  where  He 
shows  what  a  man  must  do — and  what  can  be  done 
for  him — to  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  God  (3 :  1-21). 
(c)  By  the  renewed  testimony  of  John  the  Baptist  to 
the  supreme  character  of  the  revelation  in  Him  (3 :  22- 
36).  (d)  In  the  conversation  with  the  woman  of  Sa- 
maria— on  the  way  from  Judea  to  Galilee — in  which 


150  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

He  declares  Himself  to  be  the  Messiah,  so  long  ex- 
pected by  the  Jews  (4:  1-42).  (e)  In  the  miracle  of 
the  healing  of  the  nobleman's  son  in  Capernaum. 
This  great  work  of  mercy,  it  should  be  noted,  was 
performed,  at  a  distance,  by  Christ  from  Cana  o*"  Gali- 
lee (4 :  43-54). 

3.  Christ  reveals  Himself  more  and  more  fully. — 
He  declares  His  mission  and  His  principles  (5  :  1- 
12:50).  His  relations  to  God  and  man  are  clearly 
defined.  These  chapters  show  the  conflict  of  the 
"  Light  of  the  World "  with  spiritual  darkness. 
"  Many  believe  on  Him  and  the  faith  of  His  disciples 
is  strengthened,  but  the  leaders  of  the  nation  reject 
Him  and  resolve  upon  His  death." 

(a)  He  defines  His  relation  to  God,  the  Father 
(5  :  1-47).  The  occasion  of  the  discourse,  given  here, 
is  the  healing,  in  Jerusalem,  of  a  man  who  had  an 
infirmity  for  thirty-eight  years.  He  declares  in  this 
discourse  that  "  All  men  should  honor  the  Son,  even 
as  they  honor  the  Father.  He  that  honoreth  not  the 
Son  honoreth  not  the  Father  which  hath  sent  Him  " 
(5  :  23). 

(b)  He  declares  His  relation  to  men  and  what  He 
can  do  for  them  (6 : 1-7 1).  The  occasion  for  this  dis- 
course, which  is  on  "  The  Bread  of  Life,"  is  the  miracle 
of  the  feeding  of  the  five  thousand  and  the  attendant 
events.  Jesus  had  gone  up  into  Galilee  and  over  the 
Sea  of  Galilee,  where  this  miracle  had  been  performed. 
In  returning,  at  night,  over  the  Sea  of  Galilee  there 
was  a  storm  in  which  Jesus,  who  had  not  gone  in  the 


The  Revelation  of  the  Christ  151 

boat  with  His  disciples,  had  come  to  them  walking  on 
the  water.  Arriving  in  Capernaum  He  entered  into 
the  synagogue  and  talked  to  the  assembled  people 
upon  His  relation  to  men.  Referring  to  Himself,  He 
said,  "  The  bread  of  God  is  He  which  cometh  down 
from  heaven  and  giveth  life  unto  the  world."  .  .  . 
"  I  am  the  bread  of  life :  he  that  cometh  to  Me  shall 
never  hunger ;  and  he  that  believeth  on  Me  shall 
never  thirst."  ..."  I  am  the  living  bread  which 
came  down  from  heaven  :  if  any  man  eat  of  this  bread 
he  shall  live  forever :  and  the  bread  that  I  will  give  is 
My  flesh,  which  I  will  give  for  the  life  of  the  world." 
Such  open  and  plain  statements,  of  the  greatness  and 
divine  character  of  His  mission  for  men,  angered  the 
Jews.  Many  of  His  disciples  left  Him  but  the  Twelve 
believed  in  Him  more  firmly. 

(c)  He  makes  known  His  relation  to  the  world,  as 
"  The  Light  of  the  World,"  in  the  discussion  which 
arises  over  the  questions  :  "  Who  He  is,"  "  Whence 
He  is  "  and  "  Whither  He  goes  "  (chapters  7  and  8). 
The  events  and  discussion  reported  in  these  chapters 
took  place  at  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  in  Jerusalem. 
It  is  in  the  seventh  chapter  that  the  debate,  as  to  who 
and  what  He  is,  is  very  animated.  The  Pharisees  be- 
come more  embittered  and  they,  with  the  chief  priests, 
send  officers  to  apprehend  Him ;  in  this  they  fail. 
There  is  a  division  of  the  people  because  of  Him.  In 
the  eighth  chapter  Jesus  again  goes  over  His  claims, 
taking  for  His  text  the  words,  "  I  am  the  light  of  the 
world ;  he  that  followeth  Me  shall  not  walk  in  dark- 


152  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

ness  but  shall  have  the  light  of  life  "  (8  :  12).  There 
is  no  ambiguity  in  Jesus'  statements  and  claims  in  this 
chapter. 

(cl)  He  claims  to  be  the  Divine  One.  He  accepts 
worship  (9 :  38)  and  declares  that  men  are  saved 
through  Him  (10 :  9).  These  claims  are  once  more 
set  forth  in  the  discussions  which  take  place  in 
chapters  9  and  10.  In  chapter  9  He  heals  a  blind 
man  after  which  the  Jews  try  to  persuade  the  blind 
man  that  the  one  who  had  healed  him  was  not  a  man 
of  God.  In  this  they  do  not  succeed.  They  cast  him 
out  of  the  synagogue.  Jesus  finding  the  blind  man, 
after  he  had  been  cast  out  by  the  Jews,  asks  him, 
"  Dost  thou  believe  on  the  Son  of  God  ?  "  «  He  an- 
swered and  said,  Who  is  He,  Lord,  that  I  might  be- 
lieve on  Him  ?  "  "  And  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Thou 
hast  both  seen  Him  and  it  is  He  which  talketh  with 
thee.  And  he  said,  Lord,  I  believe.  And  he  wor- 
shipped Him  "  (9  :  35-38).  In  chapter  10  Jesus  shows 
His  love  and  care  for  men  in  the  parable  of  the  "  Good 
Shepherd."  Here  He  declares  His  mission  and  that 
He  is  the  means  of  salvation  :  "  I  am  the  door ;  by 
Me  if  any  man  enter  in  he  shall  be  saved."  At  the 
Feast  of  Dedication  (10 :  22-42)  Jesus  in  answer  to 
the  direct  question  of  the  Jews  tells  them  that  He  is 
the  Christ  and  declares :  "  I  and  My  Father  are  one." 
The  Jews  again  seek  to  apprehend  Him  but  He  es- 
capes them. 

(e)  He  proves  Himself  to  be  the  Lord  of  life  and 
death  in  the  raising  of  Lazarus  from  the  dead  (1 1  :  I- 


The  Revelation  of  the  Christ  153 

57).  In  doing  this  He  said  :  "  I  am  the  resurrection 
and  the  life :  he  that  believeth  in  Me,  though  he  were 
dead,  yet  shall  he  live :  and  whosoever  liveth  and  be- 
lieveth in  Me  shall  never  die"  (11  :  25,  26). 

(/)  He  publicly  sets  forth  His  Messiahship  in  riding 
in  triumph  from  the  Mount  of  Olives  to  Jerusalem 
(12:12-19).  Chapter  twelve  is  taken  up  with  the 
anointing  of  Jesus,  the  consultation  by  the  chief 
priests  of  how  they  might  put  Lazarus  to  death  with 
Jesus,  the  triumphal  entry,  the  coming  of  the  Gentiles 
to  see  Jesus,  Jesus'  announcement  of  His  death  and 
its  results  and  His  rejection  by  the  Jews. 


2.  THE  INNER  REVELATION  OF  CHRIST 

TO  HIS  DISCIPLES 

(13:  1-17:26) 

The  discourses  reported  in  these  five  chapters,  13  to 
17,  occupy  but  a  single  evening  and  were  spoken  by 
Christ  in  the  room  in  Jerusalem,  where  the  Last  Sup- 
per was  observed  and  on  the  way  to  the  garden  of 
Gethsemane.  He  is  fully  aware  that  His  arrest  by  the 
Jews  is  only  a  matter  of  a  very  short  time  and  that, 
after  that,  there  will  follow  at  once  for  Him  cruel 
torture  and  an  ignominious  death.  He  knows  that 
His  friends  and  disciples  for  a  while  will  turn  away 
from  Him.  Yet  in  the  face  of  all  this,  and  it  is  well 
to  remember  this,  He  goes  calmly  and  confidently  for- 
ward, speaking  of  the  great  things  which  pertain  to 
His   Kingdom  in  this  life  and  the  life  to  come.     He 


154  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

here  enters  into  the  closest  and  most  loving  fellowship 
with  His  disciples.  He  entreats  His  disciples  not  to 
let  their  "  heart  be  troubled."  He  tells  them  of  the 
solace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  who  will  come  to  them  and 
teach  them,  and,  at  the  last,  He  prays  for  them. 

1.  Jesus  gives  His  disciples  a  lesson  of  humility 
and  love  after  the  last  supper  (13  :  1-38). — He  washes 
the  disciples'  feet  and  gives  a  new  commandment, 
"  That  ye  love  one  another  as  I  have  loved  you,  that 
ye  also  love  one  another."  Lofty  teaching  indeed, 
for  He  is  now  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  His  enemies. 

2.  Jesus  seeks  to  comfort  His  disciples  (14:  1-3 1). 
— He  teaches  that  nothing  can  go  amiss,  here  or  here- 
after, to  those  who  love  and  are  in  harmony  with  God. 

3.  Jesus  exhorts  to  an  abiding  faith  in  and  a  union 
with  Himself,  under  the  figure  of  the  vine  and  its 
branches  (15  :  1-27).     This  is  the  way  of  life. 

4.  Jesus  promises  the  guidance  and  care  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. — He  knows  the  weakness  of  men  and 
that  they  need  the  spiritual  power  that  can  be  obtained 
through  Him  (16:  1-33). 

5.  Jesus  prays  for  and  commends  His  disciples  to 
the  care  of  God  (17  :  1-26). — He  knows  that  it  is  only 
as  they  are  kept  closely  in  communion  with  the  Divine 
Influence  that  they  will  be  able  to  withstand  the  great 
pressure  that  will  be  brought  to  bear  upon  them  to 
abandon  their  faith  ;  but  if  they  are  in  the  keeping 
power  of  God  that  nothing  can  harm  them.  He 
earnestly  prays  for  the  keeping  of  His  disciples  for 
their  work. 


The  Revelation  of  the  Christ  155 

3.     THE  HUMILIATION  AND  GLORIFI- 
CATION OF  THE  CHRIST 
(18: 1-21 125) 

1.  The  humiliation  (18  :  I- 19  :  42). — Christ,  in  His 
death,  becomes  the  source  of  life  as  He  declared  be- 
forehand (12  :  23,  24  and  17 :  21)  :  "  The  hour  is  come 
that  the  Son  of  Man  should  be  glorified."  Yet  that 
hour  was  an  exceedingly  painful  one.  It  was  one 
which  required  the  utmost  fortitude  and  courage,  even 
if  it  was  expected  and  planned  for.  That  suffering 
was  more  than  physical ;  it  was  a  bitter  trial  of  the 
soul  and  an  utmost  agony  of  the  spirit.  We  may 
never  understand  the  heaviness  of  that  burden  which 
He  carried,  to  its  awful  ending  in  the  cross,  for  man- 
kind. We  have  in  chapters  18  and  19  the  culmina- 
tion and  apparent  triumph  of  hostile  unbelief.  The 
events  follow  in  quick  succession.  Jesus  is  arrested 
(18  :  1-14).  He  has  a  trial  before  the  Jewish  author- 
ities. Peter  denies  that  he  knows  Him  (18:  15-27). 
He  is  tried  by  Pilate,  to  whom  He  declares,  upon 
questioning,  His  mission  and  kingship.  Pilate  en- 
deavors to  save  Him  but  the  Jews  reject  his  efforts. 
They  demand  His  crucifixion,  "  Because  He  made 
Himself  the  Son  of  God."  Upon  this  charge  He  is 
led  out  to  be  crucified  (18  :  28-19  *  IO)-  He  is  cruci- 
fied with  this  inscription  over  His  head,  upon  the  cross, 
"  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  king  of  the  Jews  "  (19  :  17-30). 
His  burial  (19 :  31-42). 

#.  The  glorification  of  the  Christ  (20:  I-21-25). — 
The  triumph  of  evil  was  short  lived.     When  it  seemed 


156  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels 

to  have  everything  its  own  way,  and  there  seemed  to 
be  nothing  which  could  check  it,  forces  were  already 
in  operation  which  would  turn  its  triumph  into  a  rout. 
The  resurrection  of  Christ  stands  unique  in  the  history 
of  the  world.  The  Christ  whose  cause  seemed  to  be 
wholly  and  totally  lost  at  His  death  was  now  hailed 
with  an  enthusiasm  which  knew  no  bounds  and  that 
enthusiasm,  over  a  risen  and  glorified  Lord,  has  con- 
tinued to  increase,  for  He  is  "  The  Light  of  the  World," 
and  the  One  through  whom  we  hope  for  our  salvation. 
We  have  in  chapters  20  and  21  the  restoration  and 
confirmation  of  our  faith.  The  events  are  :  The  find- 
ing of  the  empty  tomb  (20:  1-10).  The  appearance 
of  Jesus  to  Mary  (20  :  1 1-18).  The  appearance  to  the 
disciples,  Thomas  being  absent  (20  :  19-25).  The  ap- 
pearance to  Thomas  with  the  other  disciples.  Jesus, 
as  Thomas  had  doubted,  bids  him  test  Him.  Thomas, 
satisfied  by  his  test,  exclaims,  "  My  Lord  and  my 
God  "  (20  :  26-31).  The  appearance  of  Jesus  to  seven 
disciples  by  the  Sea  of  Galilee  and  His  talk  with  Peter 
in  regard  to  his  work  (21 :  1-25). 

QUESTIONS 

How  are  "  The  Vital  Questions  of  the  Christian  Faith  " 
related  to  the  universal  ones  of  God,  life  and  destiny? 
What  is  the  significant  fact  about  the  revelation  in  this  Gos- 
pel ?  Give  the  five  questions  mentioned  here  and  tell  what 
they  mean.  Into  how  many  unequal  parts,  after  the  pro- 
logue, is  this  Gospel  divided  ?  What  is  the  subject  of  this 
Gospel  set  forth  in  the  prologue?    In  the  first  section — 


The  Revelation  of  the  Christ  157 

"  The  Revelation  of  Christ  to  the  World  " — what  is  the 
time  embraced  and  the  number  of  passovers  mentioned? 
Where  did  Jesus  do  His  work  ?  How  is  Christ  proclaimed 
as  the  true  Word  of  God  ?  How  is  He  recognized  by  His 
work  and  words  ?  How  does  He  reveal  Himself — His  rela- 
tion to  God,  the  Father — His  relation  to  men — His  relation 
to  the  world — His  claims  to  be  the  Divine  One  and  the 
Messiah?  In  the  second  section — "  The  Inner  Revelation 
of  Christ  to  His  Disciples  " — how  long  did  the  events  and 
discourses  reported  here  last?  How  did  Jesus  appear  in 
the  face  of  certain  death?  Give  the  five  points  made 
— with  the  prayer— of  instruction  by  Christ.  What  can  be 
said  of  the  humiliation  and  the  glorification  of  the  Christ  ? 


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BIBLE  STUDY  BY  BOOKS 

BY 
HENRY  T.   SELL,   D.D. 


New  Edition,  Revised,  with  Introductory  Chapter  on   Th» 
Making  of  the  Bible. 

52  CHAPTERS,  EMBRACING  THE  66  BOOKS 
IN  THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENT 

An  abridged  Analysis  of  the  first  five  Chapters  is  here  given 

I.  GENESIS:  The  Book  of  Beginnings.  Origin  ol  the 
World,  Man,  Sin,  Salvation.  Revelations  of  God  asCre- 
ator,Prsserver,  Lawgiver,  Judge  and  Merciful  Sovereign- 
Principal  Persons,  Leading  Events,  Purpose,  Plan,  Re- 
ligious and  Scientific  Value.  Analysis:   The  Ten  Dm- 

a.  EXODUS:  The  nuking  of  a  Nation.  Contents,  Purpose- 
Scope,  the  Two  Great  Divisions,  Narrative  and  Legis. 
lative,  the  Moral,  Ceremonial  and  Civil  Laws,  Historical 
Value.  Analysis:  The  Nation,  I.  Called,  II.  Constituted, 
III.  Consecrated.  «~  n         ~_ 

a.  LEVITICUS:  The  Government  of  the  Nation.  Connec- 
tion  of  Leviticus  with  Exodus,  Contents,  Purpose,  lhe 
Law  of  Sacrifices,  The  Form  and  Significance.  Analysis' 
I.  Fundamental  Laws  of  Sacrifice,  Purification  and 
Atonement;  II.  The  Law  of  Holiness;  III.  The  Com- 
mutation of  Vows  and  Tithes. 

4.  NUMBERS:  The  Training  of  the  Nation.  Contents. 
Relation  to  Leviticus,  Object  and  Accomplishment  ot 
the  object  in  the  Training  ol  the  Nation,  Advantages  ol 
the  Desert  Wandering,  Manner  of  the  Desert  Life. 
Analysis:  I.  The  Preparation  at  Sinai;  "-.The  March. 
Sinai  and  Moab;  III.  The  Victory,  the  Plain  of  Moab. 

8.  DEUTERONOMY:  The  Review  Book.  Situation  of  the 
Tribes,  Review  of  the  Law  and  History  of  Israel,  Neces- 
sity for  this  Review,  Contents,  Purpose.  Analysis:  1  he 
Three  Addresses  of  Moses,  I.  Remembrance  of  Gods 
Care;  II.  Exposition  of  the  Law;  III.  Renewal  of  the 
Covenant. 

This  Series  of  Studies  "Aims  to  set  forth  clearly  the  purpose, 
contents  and  analysis  of  each  book  and  to  show  its  rela- 
tive place  among  the  other  books,  especially  its  share  in 
revealing  divine  truth."  ., ,  .  _.., 

"It  presents  one  of  the  best  possible  plans  of  Bibte 
study, that  of  analysis  and  mastery  of  a  book  as  a  whole. 
This  book  has  been  translated  Into  th«  Spanish  languag* 


273  Pages,  J2mo 


BIBLE    STUDIES    IN    THE    LOK 
OF   CHRIST 

BY 
HENRY  T.  SELL,  D.D. 


EIGHT   CHAPTERS 

Covering:  the  Eight  Periods  of  Christ's  MlirisMf 


1.  The  Early  Years  of  Jesus. 

I.  The  Immediate  Preparation. 

9.  Public  Ministry— First  Year. 

4.  Public  Ministry— Second  Year. 

6.  Public  Ministry— Third  Year. 

6.  Public  Ministry— Last  Four  Months. 

7.  Passion  Week. 

8.  The  Resurrection. 


This  book  is  practical,  historical  and  constructive  and 
specially  suited  for  class  work.  There  is  something  more 
than  a  bare  outline.  The  setting  and  background  of  the 
discourses,  parables  and  miracles  is  given.  Places  are 
graphically  described.  The  course  of  events,  so  far  as  known, 
from  the  beginning  of  Christ's  life  to  the  close  is  marked  oat. 
The  great  divisions  of  the  ministry  are  noted.  All  is  done  is 
a  brief,  concise  and  interesting  way. 


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